"Welcome, both of you, Mr. Blackwood and Mr. Nolan!"
As Zane and Christopher Nolan walked the red carpet, they were called over by the host for a quick chat. The host was a well-known woman from a big French TV station.
"Mr. Blackwood," the host said with a big smile, "your short film The Tuner has been seen by 16,752 people here at the festival. That's the most of any film here, and it's a new record! How do you feel?"
Zane smiled, his voice full of real gratitude. "Thank you! That's amazing news. For The Tuner to get so much love from the audience... as a young director, I'm just so thankful. Really, I'm just thankful."
"Well, it's the most popular film in the contest," the host said. "It must be able to beat all the other movies today and win first prize, no problem!"
Hearing this, Zane immediately shook his head, looking a little embarrassed by the big compliment.
Darn! he thought. This lady is trying to trap me!
This wasn't a nice compliment; it was a trick! In Hollywood, you never say you're going to win before the award is announced. If you do, you look arrogant. And if you lose? You look like a fool!
Even the biggest, toughest directors like James Cameron were always very humble before the Oscars.
"I'll just be humble," Zane thought to himself. "Besides, I am a very humble young man!"
The host saw she wasn't going to trap Zane, so she turned to Christopher Nolan.
"First of all, congratulations, Mr. Nolan," she said. "The movie you directed, Wrong Turn 2, has made $120 million around the world since it came out!"
"Thank you!" Nolan said. He was still a little shy and not used to all this media attention.
"And Director Nolan," the host said, "your new film Memento (Memories) has wowed audiences here with its smart, mind-bending story. I believe it will definitely win a big prize!"
...
An hour later, the awards show began.
All the famous guests were inside. Normally, a new director like Zane would be sitting way in the back.
But Zane's seat was right in the third row. It was a perfect spot, almost in the front.
This was the power of money.
If Zane wasn't a billionaire and the owner of a big movie company, would the festival have given him such a good seat? Definitely not.
"Hmph! Isn't it just a few stupid dollars? Why is he so arrogant?" a young director in the back row whispered angrily.
Many of the other young directors agreed.
"The first prize for the short film contest is only 15,000 euros. Why is a rich American guy like him even here?"
"That's right! He already directed Static and made $100 million. Why is he competing against us? He's just bullying the small guys!"
"Damn him!"
While these young directors were jealous, one of them, a French director named Adam, was just worried. His film, "Jakub," was also in the contest. He felt that his movie had no chance of beating The Tuner.
...
He was right.
The very first award announced was for the short film contest.
Third place went to "The Sheep Thief."
Second place went to "Jakub."
And first place went to... The Tuner, directed by Zane Blackwood!
Zane was so happy, but he honestly didn't care about the 15,000 euro prize. That wasn't even enough to pay for the cost of making the movie!
Because it was the first year for the short film contest, the winners didn't get to make a big speech on stage.
But... as soon as Zane walked backstage with his trophy, he was swarmed by dozens of reporters.
The other two directors who won second and third place were just... left standing there. No one wanted to talk to them. Zane actually felt a little bad for them.
"Mr. Blackwood, congratulations!"
"Mr. Blackwood, I'm from Cannes Biweekly! Can we get an interview?"
"Congratulations, Mr. Blackwood! You will always be remembered as the first winner of the Cannes short film contest!"
"Sir, will you enter your film in the Berlin and Venice festivals, too?"
A bunch of reporters all rushed him at once. Of course, a few of them were still trying to cause trouble, asking if he was "bullying the small guys."
After winning the award, Zane was in a great mood. He was happy to answer a few of their questions.
"Bullying?" Zane just laughed, not getting angry at all. "Folks, what are you joking about? I'm only 21 years old! I am one of the young directors! I won because my team and I worked very hard and made a good film. Saying I'm 'bullying' is just mean to all of us who worked hard to be in this contest."
"Oh?" another reporter shouted. "You won 15,000 euros. Will you be donating it to charity?"
Zane was surprised by the question. "Why would I donate it?" he asked, honestly. "It's good for me to have money, and I give to charity every year. But this... this is my prize money. It's special to me. It's my first big award as a director! I'm definitely going to keep it."
Sheesh, he thought, why should I give away my prize?
...
Not long after, Christopher Nolan won a big prize, too! He won the Jury Prize for Memento!
This was a very important award, like the second-place prize for the best movie of the whole festival.
With one big win, Christopher Nolan was now famous!
After the show, he was surrounded by media reporters. All the sadness he felt about not being invited to the first party was completely gone.
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