American fame and fortune.

Chapter 897 New Goal
The main creators of "Spotlight", led by Thomas McCarthy, all came to the Oscar stage. Thomas McCarthy even accepted the Best Picture Oscar from Warren Beatty on behalf of the crew.

Producer Steve Golin gave his acceptance speech.

Everything seemed normal and it didn't seem like an accident.

Martin glanced at the director inconspicuously, then at the accountant from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The former wore a headset and was communicating with the group behind the scenes.

The latter was sitting at his exclusive seat, sorting the password box he carried with him.

In the third row of the guest seats in the hall, where the crew of "Moonlight" was located, Jennifer Aniston looked at the "Spotlight" crew on the stage in confusion, as if something was wrong.

They had won all the two key, bellwether awards, but ended up being an upset at the Oscars.

Aniston murmured in her heart: "Is Martin's judgment wrong? It shouldn't be! The Academy is indeed promoting diversity."

The faces of the few African Americans in the crew... were always very dark, and it was hard to see anything.

The bespectacled director Barry Jenkins kept cursing in his heart. They had been making a fuss for several months, but the Academy didn't even give them any consolation?

He remembered Spike Lee's famous quote and almost blurted out "I bought a watch last year."

At the backstage exit, the director saw that the Best Picture crew's acceptance speeches were about to end, and said into the headset, "Pay attention, the live broadcast is ending and the countdown has begun."

Members of the "Spotlight" crew and award presenter Warren Beatty walked towards the backstage.

The director added, "Commercials will start in twenty seconds!"

At this moment, the accountant from PricewaterhouseCoopers took out an envelope and saw the words "Best Picture" written on it. He was stunned for a moment, then he realized what was happening and shouted, "Wrong! Wrong! It's wrong!"

He grabbed the envelope and ran to the director like crazy: "The Best Picture is wrong! This is it, the envelope is wrong!"

The director looked at the accountant in disbelief, even wanting to kill him. He snatched the envelope, glanced at the name of the award marked on it, but didn't care too much. He opened it and took out the card. There was a film and the names of two producers on it.

Everyone present, including Martin, heard it and looked over there curiously.

Martin turned his head and looked at Warren Beatty again. Didn't this guy confirm before opening the envelope?
The TV live broadcast began to insert commercials, and the director said to the microphone: "Play the commercials for a while longer, wait for my instructions."

He immediately found Warren Beatty and took the envelope from Warren Beatty's hand. That was the envelope for the best director that PricewaterhouseCoopers had taken back before!

When the director told Warren Beatty about the situation, he was dumbfounded. He thought to himself, "You bastards made a mistake and let me go on stage and make a fool of myself?"

Even the slowest person knows that this Oscars event will most likely go down in history, and when people mention it later, the first thing they think of is that Warren Beatty mispronounced his name.

Warren Beatty felt like a huge pot had fallen from the sky, hitting him so hard that he couldn't raise his head.

Such a rotten thing has never happened in the past 87 Oscars!

The director, the accountant and Kathryn Kennedy, who arrived at short notice, gathered together to discuss the matter.

There are two solutions: one is to stick with the mistake, and the other is to return to the stage and correct it.

These people confirmed the second option in a few words, but Warren Beatty refused to go on stage again.

The old man is almost eighty years old and can't afford to lose face.

Warren Beatty came to Martin, pretending not to see the three people, and whispered to Martin: "I will never attend this Oscar Awards ceremony again. The shit they did is too damn shameful."

Martin could see that Warren Beatty didn't want to go on stage again, so he said, "Pretend you know nothing."

Things have come to this point, with so many people behind the scenes, no matter which option is chosen, there will be an uproar afterwards.

There was no choice, so Kathleen Kennedy, the accountant from PricewaterhouseCoopers, together with "Spotlight" director Thomas McCarthy and producer Steve Gowling, returned to the stage.

The commercial ended and the live broadcast returned. The group returned to the stage and announced that they had made a mistake. The Best Picture winner was not "Spotlight" but "Moonlight".

Whether it was the Dolby Theatre or the audience in front of TV or computers, everyone was stunned.

To show authenticity, the PwC accountant took out two envelopes and faced the live camera.

But these were not enough to quell the uproar at the scene and in front of the live cameras.

Even the "Spotlight" crew, who had been very excited before, were shocked and at a loss for words.

What happened in reality was even more outrageous than what was shown in the movies!
The main creators of "Moonlight" who came on stage were like wooden men, showing no joy of winning the award at all.

Even the two producers, Aniston and Barry Jenkins, didn't even say a word of thanks for the award. They just went straight backstage with the Best Picture statuette that had been reviewed by the "Spotlight" crew.

This year's Oscars ceremony ended in farce.

Aniston went backstage, declined the routine interview, and walked over quickly when she saw Martin.

Seeing her depressed look, Martin said, "Honey, no matter what, you won the Best Picture award, so be happy."

Aniston glanced at the golden statue in her hand and said, "I feel indescribably uncomfortable. I feel like this trophy is second-hand."

This was too outrageous. Martin didn't know what to say for a moment. He could only comfort her by saying, "After all, he won the Best Picture Oscar."

Aniston looked around and saw that there was no one around, so she lowered her voice and asked, "Did you do it on purpose?"

Martin said truthfully: "I don't know."

An assistant director then came over and called Martin and Aniston to take a photo with the Oscar winners.

Because of the misunderstanding, the group photo was hastily concluded and the winners all refused to be interviewed.

Someone from the college came over to communicate and requested those who were present backstage at the time not to talk about what happened in public, especially in front of the media.

Martin agreed casually.

He left the Dolby Theatre and got into Nicholson's stretched Lincoln, where the two assholes were waiting for him.

All three needed to show up at the "Oscar Night" party.

Martin, the winner of the Best Actor award, also needs to appear on the red carpet of the party as soon as possible according to the agreement with the sponsor.

In the car, Leonardo asked curiously: "What happened?"

Martin described the incident in detail and asked Nicholson: "You have been through enough. Did the college deliberately cause trouble?"

Leonardo said: "Is the academy trying to attract attention in this way?"

Nicholson was scrolling through his phone and turned the screen around for the two to see: "Public opinion has exploded."

Related discussions are flooding social media.

"The biggest blunder in Oscar history!" "This is the most fake Best Picture in Oscar history, in every sense of the word."

"It's so fucking exciting that the Best Picture winner made such a joke!"

"The academy is so crazy that they actually use this method to create topics and attract attention!"

Leonardo retracted his gaze and asked, "Could it really be the academy?"

Nicholson said: "It doesn't matter whether it's true or not, the Oscars have become a hot topic of public opinion again."

Martin does not reject conspiracy theories: "Is it possible that those African Americans are forcing the college to carry out so-called diversity reforms? However, the core strength of the college is basically people like us. How could we be willing to let those black people...jump up and down and coerce us?"

Leonardo understood what was meant by this: "The Academy was unwilling to be forced into a trap, and also bore the enormous pressure of social diversity, so they gave them the most important Oscar award, and deliberately created the current situation, making that black gay film the most controversial best film in Oscar history."

Martin said with a smile: "Did they get the Best Picture Oscar? If the blacks keep making a fuss, then there's something wrong with them."

"No one will admit to this kind of thing." Nicholson continued, "And I feel that this was not a deliberate plan, but a natural result achieved through the tacit understanding of some people."

He pushed up his sunglasses and said, "No matter how good Moonlight is, after this incident, the most controversial Oscar for Best Picture will no longer be Shakespeare in Love, but this one."

Leonardo DiCaprio said: "When people mention Moonlight, the first thing they think of is always the controversy."

The car stopped in front of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, waiting to enter.

Martin changed the subject and reminded Leonardo: "Dude, remember to solve the math problem later."

Leonardo knew what the bastard was talking about and raised his middle finger at Martin.

Nicholson was not forgiving: "The three of us have seven Oscars. How many does each of us have?"

Leonardo was furious: "This time next year, the three of us will have eight Oscars! I swear!"

Someone outside opened the car door, and Martin got out first and walked onto the red carpet with Leonardo and Nicholson.

There are basically no fans here, just media reporters.

Walking up the steps in front of the hotel, a reporter from Vanity Fair, one of the organizers, stopped Martin and said, "Congratulations, Martin, you won your third Oscar and your second Best Actor. Can you tell me how you feel now?"

"I'm very excited and happy." Martin has reached his current status and no longer needs to seek attention. When facing an interview, he gave a conventional answer: "I am grateful for the recognition of the college and my peers in the industry."

The reporter's focus was not here, and he immediately asked: "You should have been backstage before and after the Best Picture award was presented, right? Can you tell me what happened specifically?"

Martin said: "I went to the bathroom as soon as I entered the backstage area, and when I came out I realized what had happened."

The reporter wanted to ask more questions, but Martin waved his hand, caught up with Leonardo and Nicholson, and went into the hotel together.

Entering the banquet hall where the party was held, people came over one after another to congratulate Martin.

Because the crew of "Split" was small, Jonathan Nolan, who had never won an award, did not come at all. Only the three assholes sat at the table belonging to the "Split" crew.

Occasionally someone came to inquire about the news, but Martin always evaded them.

Nicholson made a phone call and said, "The college executive committee has held an emergency meeting and is trying to come up with a unified statement. I expect there will be an official statement tomorrow morning."

Leonardo remembered what Martin said and continued, "I have given you the explanation you wanted. Whether you accept it or not is your business. It has nothing to do with me."

Martin gave Leonardo a thumbs up: "Old man, you have understood the nature of this society!"

Nicholson said: "You two bastards are as shameless as those politicians in Washington."

Martin waved his hand: "We are far from it. Politicians never have a bottom line. Leo and I at least have a bottom line."

The three stayed for a while and decided to leave.

Martin received a call and Elizabeth and Lily prepared a celebration party at home.

Leonardo and Nicholson followed him.

In addition, Martin also called friends including Mene, as well as members of the agency and public relations team.

When leaving, Leonardo looked around again. The atmosphere on this Oscar night was really not very good.

The controversy caused by "Spotlight" and "Moonlight" has just begun.

Martin and his two companions quickly returned to the North Side of Sunset Boulevard.

During the day, Elizabeth made sure to greet the neighbors, nearby residents, and the management committee.

As soon as Martin and the other two got out of the car, fireworks shot up into the sky.

The entire Davis Manor was brightly lit, and colorful fireworks kept flying into the sky to celebrate Martin's second Oscar for Best Actor.

In all of Hollywood, there are only a handful of actors who have won three Oscars for acting.

Jack Nicholson, now the face and mascot of the Oscars, won the same awards as Martin: one Best Supporting Actor and two Best Actor awards.

The only person to win three Oscars for Best Actor is the Academy's top favorite, Daniel Day-Lewis.

Most of the people who came to celebrate would have a drink with Martin.

No matter how much Martin could drink, he still felt a little tipsy.

The party was over, and after seeing off the guests, Martin sat on the sofa in the living room, talking in a half-awake and half-drunk manner.

Someone once said that there are fifty-five types of people who will sing and dance when they are drunk, and there is another type of people who like to brag the most when they are drunk.

"I once dreamed of marching into Washington, capturing the White House, and destroying America." Martin wasn't completely bragging: "Now I suddenly realize that I have become part of the vested interest group. The boy who dreamed of slaying a dragon has finally become a dragon!"

Lily curled her lips: "When you hooked up with my sister, I knew there was an evil dragon!"

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at Lily.

The two of them had a tacit understanding. Lily quickly shut up and stopped mentioning the people and things in Atlanta.

Elizabeth poured a glass of water for Martin: "The previous goal was unrealistic, what is your current goal?"

Martin took the water, drank most of it in one gulp, and said, "Becoming the first person in Hollywood, achieving an achievement that all superstars and top directors have not achieved."

Lily had heard Nicholson say before: "Becoming the first person to win both the Best Actor Oscar and the Best Director Oscar?"

Martin stood up, holding Lily with one hand and Elizabeth with the other: "You want both. You are so greedy."

(End of this chapter)