On December 26, the nominations for the 60th Golden Globe Awards were announced.
This year's awards season, with its fierce and chaotic competition, was hailed as a "big year" by many critics, drawing a great deal of attention. Naturally, the Golden Globe nominations became a hot topic.
Questions abounded: Which films were nominated for Best Drama? Which ones were left out? Would there be surprises in the highly competitive Best Actor and Best Actress categories? Which films would defy the odds and secure a screenplay nomination?
And so on.
As soon as the nominations were released, controversy took over the headlines—
Once again, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) was the subject of ridicule.
Typically, the Best Director category consists of five nominees. That's the rule.
However, this year's competition was so intense that the HFPA couldn't make a decision, and the final list of Golden Globe nominations included not five, but six names:
"Gangs of New York," Martin Scorsese. "The Hours," Stephen Daldry. "Adaptation," Spike Jonze. "About Schmidt," Alexander Payne. "Chicago," Rob Marshall. "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," Peter Jackson.
This...
The controversy erupted instantly.
Many industry experts pointed out, "Don't they realize this is a big year? Don't they know that this year has been packed with excellent films?"
Even with six nominations, there were still snubs: Steven Spielberg for "Catch Me If You Can," Roman Polanski for "The Pianist," Todd Haynes for "Far From Heaven," and more.
There just wasn't enough room!
But changing the rules to expand the category from five to six nominees was not the right solution.
It's unfair.
Unfair to the directors who missed out despite the expanded nominations, and also unfair to the six who were nominated.
People were bound to ask, "If there were only five nominees, who would get cut?" or "Who got in through the back door?" or "Who broke the rules?"
The HFPA's intent to honor more directors was commendable, but their execution was foolish.
Once again, it reinforced the notion that the Golden Globes were not to be taken seriously.
The buzz was deafening!
The debates and discussions didn't stop after the announcement.
And this wasn't even the age of social media. Had it been, it surely would've trended, with keywords like "scandal," "shady dealings," and "undeserving" dominating the conversation for days.
It's for this reason that Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks didn't invest much time or effort into this awards season, a decision praised by many fans as wise.
Then.
After the initial wave of controversy, people noticed something else:
Anson Wood!
Anson's name appeared on the list of Golden Globe nominees!
Suddenly, things got interesting.
In the Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy category, there was his name, standing out among the competition.
Richard Gere, "Chicago" Hugh Grant, "About a Boy" Nicolas Cage, "Adaptation" Adam Sandler, "Punch-Drunk Love"
And, Anson Wood, "Catch Me If You Can."
Wow. Wow!
These were all heavyweights, major stars with significant reputations. To see Anson's name among them was like a breath of fresh air.
Neither Anson nor anyone at DreamWorks saw this coming.
When Edgar called Anson, he was resting in a train car, almost drifting off to sleep. His mind was hazy.
Flash mob events, on the surface, seemed glamorous and exciting, with waves of attention sweeping across the continent. But behind the scenes, Anson had been running ragged, constantly on the move, with barely enough time to sleep. Every day was a new location, a new look, another fan meeting.
Even at twenty years old, the exhaustion was catching up to him after just a few days.
It's no wonder that by the end of a film's promotional tour, actors often seemed drained and just going through the motions. Publicity is not easy.
By the time Anson answered the phone, he could barely keep his eyes open.
On the other end, Edgar was ecstatic, practically bursting with joy.
"A surprise. A complete surprise."
"I'd already given up hope. Even with Steven and Tom involved, the competition this year has been off the charts."
"I didn't expect this."
"Wow, I didn't expect it!"
"This is a good thing. Even if we don't get an Oscar nod, it doesn't matter. Even if it's just a nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical, we've made it into the awards conversation. That means you're now part of this industry."
"Of course, they can still call you an 'idol,' just like they did with Hugh Grant and Richard Gere, but the dynamics are different now. We have more opportunities."
"And this is a Steven and Tom project."
"Haha, I need to ramp up the promotion now—not to campaign for an Oscar, but to get people to go see the movie, to plant the idea in their heads: Anson is an actor. Anson is an actor. Anson is an actor."
"Maybe we should stir up some controversy, say you should've been in the Drama category instead of Comedy. The bigger the controversy, the better."
"Ah, Anson, I need to call Eve. We'll talk later."
Blah blah blah.
Ever since "Catch Me If You Can" was confirmed, Edgar had been meticulously planning. He wasn't expecting Anson to transition from "idol" to "actor" overnight—Hollywood's prejudice against heartthrobs runs deep, as seen in the struggles of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, who spent a decade trying to shake the label. Even then, being an idol wasn't necessarily bad.
At least it meant steady work and handsome paychecks.
Edgar's real goal was to broaden Anson's horizons, creating more possibilities. After all, even as an "idol," there were tiers: some, like Matthew McConaughey and Hugh Grant, specialized in romantic comedies; others, like Adam Sandler, excelled in comedy; and still others, like Keanu Reeves, could do both action and romance. Edgar didn't want Anson's career to be confined to "Spider-Man" or similar teen superhero roles.
Planning, strategizing, moving forward.
Now, finally, they were seeing results—
The specific nomination didn't matter. What mattered was that this nomination opened a door.
Especially since DreamWorks hadn't invested much in awards season campaigns, and yet Anson still landed a nomination. It was clear that his influence in Hollywood was on the rise.
That was the real victory.
No wonder Edgar, usually so composed and calm, couldn't hide his excitement.
Throughout the call, Edgar did most of the talking, his excitement palpable, even over the phone.
On the other end, Anson was half-asleep, vaguely aware of what was happening, but not fully processing it. As soon as the call ended, he drifted off to sleep, just like that.
It wasn't until a few days later, at another flash mob event, that the reality began to sink in.
Fans continuously congratulated him, genuinely excited for him as if they had been nominated themselves. One after another, their enthusiasm finally made Anson realize:
Oh, I got nominated for a Golden Globe.
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