SF Chapter 187: Oscar III
After talking for a little while longer and meeting a few more people, Dani entered the theater.
He sat in the main audience on the orchestra level, in a prime section reserved for the nominees and their guests.
Dani glanced over at where the other three had been seated. Jay, Gloria, and Evelyn were off to the side, in an area reserved for less distinguished guests.
"Mom is probably complaining about you sitting in a better spot," he commented.
Claire adjusted herself more comfortably in her chair, careful with the expensive dress she was wearing.
"And Dad is probably grumbling about her complaining..." she added.
A moment later, Claire discreetly glanced around the theater.
She grabbed her brother's arm and whispered, subtly gesturing behind her. "Don't look now. But Nicole Kidman is sitting diagonally behind me."
Dani slowly turned his head until, at one point, he completely snapped around.
"I said don't look," Claire whisper-yelled.
"Too late, Sis. She's making eye contact with me," he replied.
But then he got up and said more formally, "Nice to meet you. Dani Harper."
Nicole shook his hand. "The youngest screenwriter. Nice to meet you," she said with a smile.
"And this is my sis," he added, as Claire stood up and politely greeted her.
Once Daniel and Claire were seated again, he whispered to his sister, "Would it be weird if I told her I loved Eyes Wide Shut?"
Claire just replied with a warning look.
Not long after, a woman took the seat beside Claire. "Hi. Good evening."
"Good evening," Claire replied with a smile.
But Dani exclaimed, "Wow, nice to meet you, Ms. Liv Tyler."
"I'm on your team. Totally rooting for The Lord of the Rings tonight!" He grinned.
Then, seeing his sister looking at him, he explained, "She played Arwen Undómiel, of the House of Elrond, who married Aragorn II Elessar in Minas Tirith."
"Seems like you're really a fan of The Lord of the Rings," Liv joked.
"I am," Dani agreed. "Also because I'm a writer! And one who writes fantasy. I can't possibly not like Tolkien."
Liv kept staring at him, as though trying to place his face. Dani noticed and added,
"Yes, I'm also friends with that weirdo who interrupted the interview during the premiere," he confessed, remembering the incident Sheldon had caused in New Zealand.
"What?" Claire exclaimed.
"It was Sheldon. Leonard's roommate, remember?" he said. "But he's totally harmless."
Recognition finally crossed Liv's face. "Yeah. I didn't think much of it. He just walked right past me, heading straight toward Elijah Wood and Sean Astin..."
Then a huge guy approached, practically casting a shadow over where Dani was sitting.
Dani looked up. "Holy crap! That's what I call a big dude!"
"Dani!" Claire hissed.
"I meant that respectfully, sir," Dani said when he realized the man had heard him. "Very, very respectfully."
The man chuckled, clearly not taking offense. He extended his hand. "Michael Clarke Duncan."
"Dani Harper."
Dani started a conversation, "Loved your movies The Green Mile and Daredevil."
But Duncan caught him off guard. "And I loved your Mean Girls and Easy A."
Dani blinked. "Really?"
"Yes. Why wouldn't I?"
"Well, the audience tends to be female," Dani said with a shrug.
"Hey, if you're really a fan, how about promoting Easy A's DVD? We can work out a nice deal."
"Oh!" Dani suddenly had an idea. "If you recreated Olive's 'Pocketful of Sunshine' scene for the promo video, it would be hilarious!"
Duncan stared at him. "You do have quite an imagination..."
"Well, that's what I do for a living," Dani remarked.
"If the pay is good, I have nothing against it," Michael laughed.
"Cool!"
But then someone a few rows ahead caught Dani's attention. He stood up and squeezed past his sister. "Excuse me."
"Where are you going?" Claire asked with a dumbfounded expression.
Dani kept walking. "Just gonna ask some questions. I'll be back in a moment."
And he did exactly that. Claire watched him walk toward the rows in front of them and start talking to a woman who had just taken her seat. A short while later, he came back.
After he sat down, she asked, "What was that?"
He started his explanation. "Oh, Cam and Mitchell are helping me with the script for Mamma Mia! It's a movie where I thought their input would be very valuable."
"The thing is, Cam is very vocal about how Meryl Streep would be amazing as the female lead," he revealed. "So I went to ask her if she knows how to sing."
Dani turned his head toward Claire. "We can't seriously consider a female lead for a musical movie if she can't sing."
"Couldn't you have waited until afterward?" Claire made a face.
"Sis, you're the one who's always teaching me not to put off my responsibilities," he scoffed. "God, there's no pleasing you, woman."
Claire just pinched him hard, almost making him yelp.
The Oscars finally began, with Andy Geller announcing the start of the ceremony.
Dani was happy after The Lord of the Rings won Art Direction and Finding Nemo won Animated Feature.
But he whispered to his sister, "Jesus, this is going to take forever..."
Claire lightly pinched him. "It's only been thirty minutes!"
After what felt like two very long hours to Dani, LOTR won yet another award.
"Is this their seventh statuette? Or did we go back in time?" he joked, sounding a little exhausted.
"I've already lost count..." Claire wasn't doing much better, even though she was trying to maintain her composure.
Another half hour passed, and finally the moment they had been waiting for the most arrived.
"Dani," Claire said, straightening herself in her seat.
"Just give it to The Lord of the Rings again. They deserve it," he said.
She called him again. "Dani!"
"Oh, right." Dani straightened himself in his seat as well.
Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon walked onto the stage, and she began talking about the films.
"A father's lesson bestowed upon an estranged son, an Irish family building a new life in the U.S.,"
She continued without stopping, "a chance meeting between a middle-aged man and a young woman, a teenage girl navigating the ruthless world of high school, and a father whose son happened... to be... a fish."
After a few laughs from the audience, Tim continued. "The nominees for screenplay are..."
The screen showed an image from each film, with a picture of the screenwriter displayed above it.
After the applause from those in attendance, Susan finally opened the envelope.
"And the Oscar goes to..."
"...Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation."
Dani applauded normally, not feeling much about the result.
Claire let out a quiet "Damn it!" when the winner was announced, but quickly covered it up and joined in the applause.
Sofia walked onto the stage and gave a typical winner's speech, thanking everyone involved.
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