"The winner of Best Original Screenplay is..."
On the stage, Robert Downey Jr. opened the envelope and read the result, which did not surprise Duke:
"The King's Speech, David Seidler!"
This could be considered a precursor to the Best Picture award. Along with the previously won Best Editing, The King's Speech was almost guaranteed the Oscar for Best Picture.
Unless something unexpected happened, The King's Speech was very likely to take home the top prize.
The main competitor once thought to challenge The King's Speech was The Social Network. However, up to this point in the ceremony, it had only won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The big winner at the Golden Globes seemed destined to be the loser at the Oscars.
In a series of technical categories, Gravity emerged as the biggest winner. After initially winning Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction, it went on to claim Best Score, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing four more Oscars.
By the halfway mark of the ceremony, Duke's team had already taken home six Oscars.
However, the key awards for Best Screenplay and Best Editing went to other films.
The ceremony continued. Perhaps due to the earlier intense leaks and hype, the Academy had deliberately made some clarifications.
Sheryl Boone Isaacs, the rotating president of the Academy, took the stage and used the big screen to briefly explain the Oscar voting process. In recent years, criticism that the Oscars had become a money and PR game had grown louder, and the Academy seemed to want to defend itself this way.
Interspersed were comments from many judges, including George Clooney, John Travolta, and Michael Bay. According to these people, the Oscars were absolutely fair, open, and impartial.
Unfortunately, insiders knew that beneath the Oscars' glamorous facade flowed dealings involving sex, money, and connections. Outstanding works and performances were just the basic entry requirements.
Will Smith, one of the interviewees in the video, humorously covered his eyes and then tossed the pen onto the list of nominees...
He perfectly illustrated the well-known practice of "voting with your feet."
"A secretary prints out the final tally, seals the envelope, then they take her away to be shot. We take the envelope, and the result is definitely secret."
Laughter filled the room, and this segment ended, with the ceremony returning to its usual course.
Next were awards like Best Original Song, which were not closely related to Duke. His recent two films, Inception and Gravity, did not use any theme songs performed by singers.
This year, the Oscars made some changes, but the Academy remained conservative. For example, for the twentieth time, they vetoed the creation of an award for Best Stunt Coordinator.
Though the Executive Committee always said they appreciated stunt coordinators' contributions to films, they were unwilling to make any changes. Even when stunt coordinators offered to accept the award at a non-televised ceremony before the Oscars, the Academy insisted on no such award.
Stunt coordinators hold a very important role in filmmaking and contribute uniquely.
On sets for directors like Duke, stunt coordinators are always crucial.
They are responsible for designing various complex and dangerous action scenes in film and television, including car chases, fights, explosions, underwater work, high falls, and more, then handing them over to stunt performers or specialists.
At this point in the ceremony, the stage was not very lively. The audience's reaction was rather lukewarm. Without cameras on them, many might have been yawning.
Over time, the jurors who were young in the 1990s had grown old, causing the Oscars, now 83 years old, to show increasing signs of aging. Perhaps the Academy realized this problem, bringing in young hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway, but still failed to save this inevitably dull ceremony.
When the Oscars first announced that young actors James Franco and Anne Hathaway would host, many fans believed the two could bring some highlights to the dull ceremony. Unfortunately, their hosting was utterly unremarkable and failed to reverse the evening's downbeat trend.
Perhaps the writers' jokes were too cold; Anne Hathaway did her best to be lively, even playing "Wolverine" on stage and frequently changing dresses, telling jokes, but with little effect. James Franco was worse, standing on stage stiffly like a log, responding coldly to Anne Hathaway's various teasing.
At the same time, this year they canceled the segment introduced in previous years, where five acting award winners each introduced five nominees.
This segment was very popular in past years, but because it was so elaborate and time-consuming, this year they had the previous year's winner simply read the five nominees. The Academy seemed intent on controlling the ceremony's length; if a winner's speech exceeded the allotted time, they kept reminding and urging them. The result was many winners this year couldn't finish their speeches.
"The Oscars are going downhill every year. The old judges don't even want to brainstorm a better idea; they just want to finish awarding and go home to sleep."
Hearing Scarlett Johansson's bored complaint, Duke felt she was not without reason.
If the Academy and Oscars don't actively reform and save themselves, it won't be long before the Oscars fall out of the top five or even top ten in North American viewership.
That would be quite an embarrassing result for Hollywood.
After years of evolution and rehearsal, the Oscars have basically achieved a surface of lavish parties, fine clothes, and peace-loving stars constantly thanking judges and parents.
Beneath this procedural facade, rules and unspoken rules have reached a certain unity, leaving insiders with nothing to say even if a blockbuster fails to win, the winning art film is definitely presentable, and vice versa.
But audiences don't want to see this; they want freshness and surprise, and for their favorite films and actors to win.
However, the Oscars will not change according to audience preference; after all, it is not the "Teen Choice Awards" or the "People's Choice Awards."
Thus, Leonardo DiCaprio had to run up the stage again without winning.
"The Oscar for Best Actor tonight goes to…"
On stage, Sandra Bullock opened the envelope and glanced at it, "Colin Firth, The King's Speech. Congratulations!"
Just like throughout the entire awards season, Leonardo DiCaprio lost to Colin Firth once again; Leonardo DiCaprio lost to Colin Firth once again…
Duke specifically glanced at Leonardo, whose expression remained calm and unchanged, as if he was already used to being the runner-up.
On the other side of the Pacific, the internet was filled with voices defending Leonardo.
"Leo's performance in Inception was so outstanding, why didn't he win?"
"This is unfair; the Oscars are not fair at all!"
"A popular actor and film losing to an unnoticed actor and film, where's the logic?"
Seeing these comments online, Wang Ziming could only sigh there is really no fairness to be found at the Oscars.
He thought for a moment and left his own opinion online.
"The real one who defeated Leonardo DiCaprio was neither Colin Firth nor The King's Speech itself. In American mainstream values, aging conservatism and Puritan spirit prevail. Therefore, Colin Firth's role and The King's Speech build a classical, intimate, clumsy yet brave leader image with a petite bourgeoisie kind of drunken charm, which resonates deeply with the Oscar voters whose average age is over fifty. In contrast, Duke and Leo, though both American-born and raised, tell stories and portray characters that clearly fall outside the context and reality acceptable to that old-guard film academy."
"Duke won't walk away empty-handed, right?"
The topic soon shifted to what people cared about more.
"What award will be announced next?"
"Best Actress!"
At the Kodak Theatre, the tall and sturdy Jeff Bridges walked onto the stage. The previous year's Best Actor winner stood at center stage.
"Tonight, I'm honored to present to you the nominees for Best Actress," he looked out at the audience, "Annette Bening, throughout your distinguished career, you have created roles full of power and vividness that never tire the audience, and your role in The Kids Are All Right is no exception."
"Nicole Kidman, year after year, you bring outstanding performances, portraying characters realistically and thoroughly; your role in Rabbit Hole is considered your personal best so far."
"Jennifer Lawrence, the depth of the characters you portray on screen far surpasses your age. On behalf of everyone, I say I eagerly look forward to your future achievements. Your breakthrough performance in Winter's Bone makes us even more excited."
"Natalie Portman, having conquered fans of all ages with various roles, whatever character you play, your passion for acting shines through. This year's Black Swan, where you portrayed Nina, is the perfect example."
"Scarlett Johansson, your traits are authenticity, courage, and naturalness. No matter what roles you take on, you connect with the audience through your calm and broad-minded spirit. This year, once again, you won the audience's recognition with your outstanding performance in Gravity…"