By March, the heat surrounding the Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident had faded, though its aftereffects were still significant.
It wasn't just the television network and the Super Bowl organizers—there was also infighting among the guest performers.
Because of the incident, the Super Bowl had to increase its broadcast delay to thirty seconds to prevent similar accidents from happening again.
And in March, the most highly anticipated event was, without question, the Academy Awards ceremony.
In terms of popularity, the increasingly conservative Oscars could not compete with the Super Bowl.
In order to boost attention, the Academy racked its brains. In a sudden brainstorm, they thought of inviting Gilbert to serve as host of the Oscars.
Normally, Hollywood directors never receive such invitations.
It was always comedians, talk show hosts, and the like who hosted the Oscars.
Perhaps the organizers thought Gilbert was younger and wanted to try something new, so they invited Gilbert to host the Academy Awards.
But Gilbert declined. He felt he lacked the sense of humor and eloquence necessary to host the Oscars well.
Even so, the Academy didn't let him off the hook.
By tradition, the previous year's Best Director winner must present the award to the new Best Director. That was something Gilbert couldn't refuse, so he agreed.
To build momentum and promote films, the two Toms appeared on stage together for the first time, presenting this year's Best Actor award.
And Charlize Theron, last year's Best Actress winner, likewise had to present the award to this year's Best Actress.
The Academy understood the importance of star power. Though unwilling to make major compromises for the market, they at least knew which people audiences wanted to see.
When the ceremony began, Scarlett sat right next to Gilbert.
"You're not going back? Leaving Sofia all alone?"
"Of course not," Scarlett clung to Gilbert's arm. "I didn't get a nomination. I'm just here to join the fun."
"Join the fun? I think you're here to cause it." Gilbert said speechlessly.
Sure enough, the live broadcast cameras frequently focused on them, cutting to shots every so often.
Seeing Scarlett nearly melt into Gilbert's arms, countless viewers silently cursed, while just as many were envious.
The ceremony itself was uneventful, almost exactly as the media had predicted. Pirates of the Caribbean won Best Visual Effects.
This was the third time in four years that Orange Studio had won the award—definitive proof it had become one of Hollywood's premier special effects studios.
The other awards had nothing to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. Perhaps because Gilbert had won too much before, many anti-Gilbert outlets accused the Academy of flattering him.
To avoid suspicion and maintain balance, this year they didn't give too many awards to Gilbert's films.
It was just as well. As a pure commercial blockbuster, Pirates of the Caribbean didn't really need Oscars anyway.
What nobody expected was Johnny Depp receiving a Best Actor nomination, which set the media abuzz.
For Best Original Screenplay, Lost in Translation created a pleasant surprise—Sofia took home the award.
Sofia had always longed for an Oscar. She had once told Gilbert that she wanted to become the first woman to win Best Director.
Though she didn't win Best Director, taking home Best Original Screenplay was still a big achievement.
After her interview, Sofia came down to talk to Gilbert.
"Well? What do you think of my Best Original Screenplay?"
Playing the role of best frenemy, Gilbert said, "So-so. You know I already won that award long ago."
"When?"
"You forgot? The Sixth Sense."
"F**k," Sofia couldn't help cursing. "You're right. Forget it—since you've won so many awards, I won't brag in front of you. Scarlett, come sit with me."
Scarlett refused. "No, I want to sit next to Gilbert."
"My God, Scarlett, can't you be a little more reserved? Gilbert still has to go on stage later!" Sofia dragged her away without giving her a choice.
Scarlett gave Gilbert a pitiful look, and Gilbert laughed. "Go on. We'll talk tonight."
Only then did Scarlett reluctantly return to her own seat.
The awards were presented one by one. Best Supporting Actor went to Tim Robbins for Mystic River—the same actor who starred in The Shawshank Redemption.
Best Supporting Actress was Renée Zellweger, a rather full-figured actress. Naomi Watts had stolen Chicago and won Best Actress, but Zellweger's career was still on track. This year, she won Best Supporting Actress for Cold Mountain.
For Best Actress, Nicole Kidman was the overwhelming favorite.
Naomi Watts was nominated again for 21 Grams, but she was essentially just along for the ride, with little chance of winning.
Another nominee, Keisha Castle-Hughes, was only eleven years old. Though she became the youngest-ever Best Actress nominee, winning was out of the question.
Nicole Kidman was nominated for two films this year: Something's Gotta Give and In American, both backed by Tom Cruise's production company.
With two nominations as insurance, the Academy couldn't avoid giving her an award.
So in the end, the winner was three-time Oscar contender Nicole Kidman, who finally fulfilled her dream with In American.
When Charlize Theron read out her name, Nicole Kidman practically jumped to the moon. She threw her arms around Tom Cruise and covered his face with kisses.
Afterward, she accepted congratulations from those around her and went onstage to receive the golden statuette from Charlize Theron.
As for In American and Something's Gotta Give, there was another story.
The female lead role in In American was originally meant for the British actress Samantha Morton, but after Moulin Rouge and The Hours suffered consecutive defeats at the Oscars, Nicole Kidman became somewhat desperate.
Thus, under the investment of Tom Cruise's production company, Nicole Kidman selected this film.
The investors demanded a change of leading actress, specifically for the more popular Nicole Kidman, and the director of In American, Jim Sheridan, of course could not refuse.
Something's Gotta Give was a similar situation, except this film was slightly special—Nicole Kidman had to act opposite Jack Nicholson.
In the film, she needed to age, appear unattractive, and portray the mother of an adult woman.
Those familiar with Hollywood know the predicament of actresses there. Top-tier actresses are extremely reluctant to play motherly roles, especially when they must age and look unattractive.
However, winning an Oscar through normal roles and avenues is nearly impossible. The Oscars discriminate against beautiful women even more severely than against handsome men.
So, Nicole Kidman, desperate, broke the golden rule of actresses in their prime, all for the sake of a Best Actress Oscar.
She believed that once she won the Oscar, all the losses would be compensated.
Of course, in this process, Nicole Kidman made trade-offs—she gave up 21 Grams, the very film for which Naomi Watts received her nomination this time.
Had Naomi Watts won the Best Actress Oscar, Nicole Kidman would have surely regretted it bitterly.
The two are friends, but whether they still maintain the same closeness as before is uncertain. Still, after putting in so much effort, if her friend had taken the award, Nicole Kidman would likely have been jealous.
Fortunately, this did not happen. Without a divorce scandal to win sympathy at the Oscars, Nicole Kidman finally realized her dream and took home the Best Actress award.
This was also thanks to Tom Cruise, because at the start of awards season, news spread again that Nicole Kidman was pregnant.
Pregnancy has always been a highly effective strategy for actresses aiming for the Oscars—provided the pregnancy is real.
Unsurprisingly, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were about to welcome their second child.
Watching Nicole Kidman on stage, constantly thanking her husband Tom Cruise, thanking her daughter, and thanking her unborn child, Gilbert felt it all seemed somewhat magical.
Tom Cruise himself—he hadn't been a Best Actor, but because of his role in Chicago, he won the award directly.
This could be considered one of the butterfly effects he caused. The world had changed significantly, yet fortunately, the strong current of history continued to move forward.
Only the path ahead remained uncertain.
For the presentation of Best Actor, the two Toms appeared on stage together, making this year's Best Actor Oscar particularly grand.
Ultimately, Sean Penn, with his outstanding performance in Mystic River, won the award, becoming the new Best Actor Oscar winner.
It is worth noting that Sean Penn is the only American actor to have won Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Venice International Film Festival, and the Cannes Film Festival.
European film festivals have historically been unkind to Hollywood, yet Sean Penn managed to win the Best Actor award at all three major European festivals, and in consecutive years, proving his remarkable talent.
Another interesting detail is that 21 Grams, starring Naomi Watts, was precisely the film for which Sean Penn won Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival.
The director of that film was Alejandro González Iñárritu, a Mexican filmmaker who once brought his script to Melon Studio seeking investment.
He later appeared at a Warner-hosted party, but at that time he was naked, hadn't bathed for several days, and sought to stand out.
So before even meeting Gilbert, he was escorted out by security.
When Nicole Kidman had given up the film, Naomi Watts had asked Gilbert for his opinion.
Gilbert thought it was worth trying, so Naomi Watts took the role—and indeed, she received a nomination.
Not winning the Oscar was fine; receiving a nomination was still an achievement. Otherwise, Johnny Depp's PR efforts would have been wasted, as he was only the runner-up in the Best Actor race this time.
.....
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