Nicholas was twenty-six years old this year and had been rolling around in the journalism industry for two years. Initially, he worked at the "San Francisco Examiner." This newspaper was one of the largest in San Francisco and was the biggest competitor to the "San Francisco Chronicle." However, across the United States, the "San Francisco Chronicle" was not only a major newspaper comparable to the "Los Angeles Times," but its circulation was also among the top fifteen media outlets; whereas the influence of the "San Francisco Examiner" was clearly much more limited.However, Nicholas's keen grasp of news still allowed him to stand out in the journalism industry, and he earned the appreciation of the editor-in-chief of the "Los Angeles Times." He started working at this best-selling newspaper on the West Coast in the second half of last year, and it was only from then on that he began reporting news about Hugo.Nicholas actually didn't have any malice toward Hugo; he was simply doing his job. Looking at Hugo's experience in the entertainment industry, he had walked step by step, firmly, to his first milestone—"dead poets society." But before he could reach the peak, he added three consecutive flops to his resume, which was not good news for any Actor. Therefore, Nicholas's comments were just a part of the overall media perspective and nothing special.However, since the 12th Golden Raspberry Awards, Nicholas felt that Hugo was interesting. "Hugo, at the Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony not long ago, you actually cried until you couldn't speak. I want to know, were you truly thanking the organizing committee for the 'recognition,' or was this just a show, a deliberately arranged show?"Nicholas's first question was very sharp, and it was also what he was most curious about. Although there had been many reports about the Golden Raspberry Awards over the past period, and journalists' speculations were flying everywhere, Hugo had never directly responded. Now that Nicholas had finally gotten the opportunity, he naturally wouldn't let it go.Facing this question, Hugo, who was accepting a formal interview for the first time, was truly stunned and didn't know how to answer, because he had been in a completely chaotic state at the time and ended up causing a misunderstanding. Since he couldn't tell the truth, he had to find a way to answer. "Are you saying that even you all can't tell whether I was being real or fake? If it were a show, then it would be quite interesting that I used my best acting skills to accept the Worst Actor award."Hugo's answer made Nicholas pause. He really hadn't thought of this logic before, and this answer was completely beyond his expectations, making Nicholas look at Hugo with a bit more curiosity."But it's a pity, those were my most genuine emotions, not my acting." Hugo shrugged regretfully. "For a long time, everyone has been tight-lipped about the Golden Raspberry Awards because no one wants to accept an award for 'worst acting.' But in my opinion, it's just a way to entertain the public, so why avoid it? To put it bluntly, since you've already made such a terrible movie, what is there to avoid? Only by honestly facing one's own mistakes can one do better in the future, right?"Hugo's honesty made Nicholas's eyes light up. Actually, this view was also the general opinion of the public: First, the Golden Raspberry Awards were just an entertainment-based award ceremony; if you took it seriously, you lost. Moreover, only if you treated it as a shame would people have the same view; conversely, if you were willing to treat it as something to make people laugh, then people would just laugh it off.The second point was about the awards themselves. Since the Actor had taken on such a terrible movie, and it had already been criticized thoroughly by the audience and film critics when it was released, what was the necessity of keeping a fig leaf to cover it up? It only made oneself more embarrassed.However, this was ultimately just the audience's idea. For Actors, they all cherished their reputations very much. Even if their works had already been drowned by Rotten Tomatoes, they were unwilling to truly stand in front of the audience to accept criticism. Face and image were very important to them. Perhaps after time had passed and many years later, it might be possible, but definitely not in the present. Filming a terrible work was one thing, but calmly standing on stage to accept the audience's teasing, mockery, and ridicule was another thing entirely.Therefore, no one had been willing to attend the Golden Raspberry Awards, and that was the reason."Then what about the tears?" Nicholas was intrigued by Hugo's answer. This was the first time he had seen an Actor who could so calmly face his own mistakes. Even though the awkwardness at the Golden Raspberry Awards had become a laughingstock for others, Hugo hadn't avoided it; instead, he used an optimistic and cheerful way to mock himself, easily winning Nicholas's favor."You can interpret it as gratitude, or you can interpret it as regret, but I personally prefer to interpret it as motivation. But regardless, you all watched it very happily, didn't you? I think I can be considered to have made a small contribution to the Golden Raspberry Awards." Since he couldn't avoid it, Hugo faced it calmly. After all, everything that happened at the Golden Raspberry Awards was a fact, and even if he wanted to deny it, he couldn't defend himself.Nicholas nodded in appreciation, satisfied with Hugo's answer. However, he had no intention of letting Hugo go. "Then can I interpret it as you being very dissatisfied with the work 'hudson hawk'?"This question made Hugo chuckle. "I don't think Martin would be satisfied with this question of yours."A deflective answer made it impossible for Nicholas to make an effective attack, because this wasn't a special interview today, but a routine one. Apart from Hugo, he had to reserve most of his time to interview Pacino later. Thinking of this, Nicholas had to shift the topic to "scent of a woman." "Hugo, let's talk about this movie."The interview regarding "scent of a woman" was clearly much more formal. Because it was a routine interview, the questions were relatively rigid, and Hugo's answers were standard, lacking the back-and-forth excitement from the beginning. Although Nicholas was recording the key points of Hugo's answers very seriously, he couldn't stop thinking about Hugo's wit just now. Such a Hugo was really interesting, much more interesting than most Actors.Therefore, when the crew reminded Nicholas that it was time to interview Pacino, he couldn't help but ask one more question. "Hugo, has anyone ever said you're a diva?" He was really curious about Hugo's answer.In fact, this kind of talk had been circulating since "fatal moment." It was mainly because after Hugo gained considerable attention in "dead poets society," his next work immediately put him in the leading role, and it was three consecutive movies with significant investments. Therefore, there had been rumors in the industry that Hugo was acting like a diva, unwilling to take on supporting roles, and his salary requirements were stuck at the three-million mark, unwilling to lower them."Yes." Hugo's crisp and neat answer made Nicholas happy, but the next words left Nicholas dumbfounded. "You just said it, or are you the first person to say so?"Nicholas felt the urge to roll his eyes. "Hugo... I mean, besides me, has anyone said that? Are there such rumors in the industry, or such accusations in the crew?""Oh, come on, Nicholas, you're in the journalism field; shouldn't your sources be better than mine? You're actually asking me; is the order of this question wrong?" Hugo said with a relaxed smile, which left Nicholas not knowing what to say.Originally, Nicholas just wanted to beat around the bush. After all, Hugo's appearance in "scent of a woman" this time was not only a supporting role, but the salary announced by Universal Pictures was only 500,000 dollars—this had dispelled many media voices questioning the crew's choice of Hugo. So Nicholas couldn't continue to say Hugo was a "diva" and could only ask tentatively.But he didn't expect Hugo to use a Tai Chi push to throw the ball back, leaving Nicholas at a loss. In the end, he could only smile. "Yes, that's right. If I hear news about this in the future, I will tell you immediately.""Believe me, if there is news about this, I will know earlier than you." Hugo had another brilliant remark. Nicholas didn't react at first; he wanted to say, "Didn't you just say my sources were better than yours, why would you know earlier than me?" But then he realized:Hugo was saying that if he were acting like a diva, he would definitely know earlier than the reporters because he had self-awareness. At the same time, this was equivalent to Hugo indirectly denying Nicholas's previous question: so far, Hugo had not acted like a diva.This simple sentence conveyed so much information. Nicholas looked at Hugo deeply: the handsome young man in front of him was far more interesting than the terrible Actor he had written about.However, Nicholas didn't say anything else. He raised his notebook in his right hand, gestured, and left directly. Next, he had to interview Al Pacino. The two didn't hug or shake hands; they just came and went in a rush. The interview, which lasted less than ten minutes, ended.Watching Nicholas's retreating back, Hugo let out a long sigh of relief. He originally thought the reporter interview would be very difficult, especially since the other party was Nicholas, his nemesis. But now, it seemed far easier than he had imagined. Although Nicholas's questions were sharp and pointed, he seemed to have no problem dealing with them, which immediately boosted Hugo's confidence significantly."Is everything okay?" After Nicholas walked near Pacino, Joseph walked over and asked, "Are there any questions I need to pay attention to?" Joseph needed to verify the interview content. If there were any problems, he had to communicate with the "Los Angeles Times" in advance to avoid mistakes."No, it's great, the conversation was very pleasant." After Hugo finished speaking, he pondered carefully and then nodded. "Well, it was much better than I imagined. At least I didn't punch him, which is a good thing." A joke made the corners of Joseph's mouth twitch again.
