It was Oscar season, and Hollywood was buzzing with activity. Publicists in black suits were everywhere, and even PR experts from other industries flocked to Los Angeles, hoping to get a piece of the action. Harvey Weinstein, for instance, had more than once hired experts from presidential campaign teams to handle Oscar publicity. Time and again, it had been proven that those willing to spend money and do it wisely had a better chance of winning an Oscar.
People like Anne Hathaway, who were unwilling to invest heavily in PR, would have to wait until they had more funds before considering a shot at Best Actress.
However, Matthew was dismayed to find that, aside from Anne Hathaway, no one else had approached him for PR work. Even the many independent film festivals didn't extend him an invitation.
This might have had something to do with the fact that he had never ventured into that circle.
Apart from his brief appearance in "Lost Souls" as a background character, since playing the Barbarian Chief in "Gladiator," he hadn't participated in any art films. He bore the label of a flashy commercial star.
Strictly speaking, the films he made with David Ellison could be classified as independent films, since they were produced by a small company. However, given their typical commercial nature and the involvement of major studios in distribution, no one would recognize them as independent films.
Especially since they had nothing to do with art films.
Were there neurotic characters? Depressed characters? Neurotic protagonists? Explicit scenes with nudity? A slow pace with an abundance of empty shots?
Since none of these were present, the films weren't considered "art."
With no one else conducting Oscar PR for him, Matthew decided he would randomly vote. For the Best Actress nomination, his first choice would naturally be Anne Hathaway—he rarely failed to fulfill a promise.
In this regard, Matthew had a reputation in Hollywood for being reliable.
"You've been selected as a presenter," Helen Herman informed Matthew over the phone during the second weekend after the New Year. "Since you've already presented Best Picture before, they won't have you do it again so soon. Plus, Disney is behind your role as a presenter, so you and Paul Walker will be presenting Best Animated Feature."
Hearing this, Matthew immediately understood Disney's intentions. "It seems Disney believes that 'WALL-E' is a shoo-in for Best Animated Feature."
Helen Herman agreed, adding, "Although this Pixar film didn't perform as well commercially as their others, it was critically acclaimed."
Matthew nodded. "It's a rare gem of a film."
Everyone knew that a good film didn't necessarily translate to strong box office returns or merchandise sales. With a global box office of just over $500 million, "WALL-E" didn't perform well compared to its $180 million budget and was overshadowed by commercial successes like the critically panned "Hancock."
Even Pixar's widely considered worst film, "Cars," was getting a sequel under pressure from Disney, but according to what Matthew had heard, "WALL-E" might not have a sequel.
Even if "WALL-E" won Best Animated Feature, it likely wouldn't change the fact that its merchandise sales lagged far behind "Cars."
As more and more successful commercial films received lukewarm responses from the market while mediocre ones flourished, Matthew realized something: despite being considered a mature market, North American audiences weren't much better in their tastes than their counterparts across the Pacific.
In general, people preferred simple, fun, and exciting blockbusters.
The North American market had a well-defined segmentation, with art house theaters specifically for art films, clearly separate from mainstream commercial cinemas. Art houses rarely showed big-budget commercial films, and mainstream theaters almost never screened art films, allowing those who enjoyed art films to avoid mainstream theaters altogether.
"By the way, one more thing," Helen Herman said before ending the call. "Don't forget to mail in your Oscar ballot by the fifteenth."
"I know."
Matthew hung up the phone and retrieved his Oscar ballot and the lengthy list of nominees. Most of the names were unfamiliar to him, leaving him slightly dizzy.
Films like "Doubt," "The Reader," and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" were among the few names he recognized from the media.
For most people, the natural choice would be to vote for the names they recognized if they didn't know the films well.
As this thought crossed his mind, Matthew realized something. With over six thousand Oscar voters, most of whom were as busy as he was, who had the time to watch all the films on the list? That's why those vying for an Oscar spent huge sums on media ads, aiming to become familiar names to voters.
As a result, voters who hadn't seen many of the films would likely consider the names they recognized when casting their ballots.
It seemed like a normal human reaction.
However, Matthew wasn't planning to vote based on this method because it wasn't fair.
As an Oscar voter, he had to uphold the principles of fairness and justice!
Since this was a nomination vote and not the final award vote, Academy rules allowed him, as a member of the Screen Actors Guild, to vote only for acting categories—Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.
Additionally, as a member of the Producers Guild, he could also vote for Best Picture nominations.
Matthew pulled out the ballot with the Oscar statuette printed on it. The ballot, mailed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, only included these five categories.
The Academy didn't handle the voting directly; PricewaterhouseCoopers had been managing the Oscar voting process for decades, ever since the awards began over eighty years ago.
Matthew found the Best Actress ballot and filled in Anne Hathaway's name in the first slot. Since he couldn't remember the film or character she played, he had to look it up in the nominee list. After finding it, he wrote down "Rachel Getting Married" and the corresponding character name, Kym.
But what about the remaining slots?
Matthew glanced over the nominee list. Familiar names like Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep stood out. Most people would probably choose these prominent names if they hadn't seen the films.
Especially Meryl Streep, who was almost universally recognized as a master of acting.
Too bad the list didn't include the production companies' names, so Matthew didn't know if Meryl Streep's film was a Weinstein production.
Speaking of which, with Harvey Weinstein's reputation in the industry, if Meryl Streep were to win Best Actress through his influence, one might wonder if there was something special between them...
Matthew chuckled and shook his head. Even if something like that happened, it would be a consensual matter, and no one could say anything. Besides, Meryl Streep's reputation when it came to relationships was only slightly better than Harvey Weinstein's.
Matthew himself was well-known for his participation in the Hollywood "car sex" club, and Meryl Streep was also a member.
As his eyes scanned the nominee list, Matthew seriously considered his options and found a solution.
He called the butler to bring the whiteboard from the study downstairs into the living room and grabbed several colored markers. After pinning the nominee list to the board, he stepped back about five feet and struck a dart-throwing pose, aiming at the list.
"No, this is too close," he said, shaking his head. "I can still read the names."
Matthew wanted to ensure his vote was absolutely fair and impartial. How could he choose based on name recognition? To avoid bias, he stepped back another five feet.
"Still not good enough," he said, trying again. "I just looked at the list, so I remember where the names are."
Familiar names might influence his choice subconsciously, making it impossible to guarantee fairness and impartiality.
As an Oscar voter, fairness and impartiality had to be the top priority!
So, Matthew called the butler back and asked her to bring a thick black cloth to blindfold him, ensuring he couldn't see the list.
After some thought, he also asked her to hand him a few more colored markers.
Once he was ready, Matthew took a few steps to shake off any lingering impressions, then picked up a marker and, like throwing a dart, launched it toward where he remembered the list to be.
Thwack—
The marker hit something and then fell to the ground.
Thwack—
Another marker hit.
Matthew threw four markers in total and then asked the butler, "Did they all hit?"
"Yes, all four hit the target," the butler confirmed.
Satisfied, Matthew removed the blindfold and examined the board. The list had four colored marks, three of which landed on letters.
One, however, landed on a blank space.
Matthew thought for a moment and decided that if it didn't land on a name, he would choose the closest name.
He then took the ballot and filled in the names under Anne Hathaway's on the remaining lines.
"Now that's fairness and impartiality," Matthew said, double-checking his work to ensure he hadn't made any mistakes. "Except for Anne Hathaway, the other four choices weren't influenced by my subjective feelings."
Compared to those who might have been swayed by gifts or PR campaigns, his voting better upheld the Oscars' principles of fairness and impartiality.
To be a qualified voter and carry out fairness and justice to the end, Matthew completed the rest of the ballot in the same manner—blindfolded, without letting personal bias affect his choices.
That afternoon, he packaged the completed ballot and mailed it to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
After lunch, Matthew left the estate to visit the Disney Studios, where the post-production for "Fast & Furious 4" was nearing completion.
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