Dominating Hollywood: Starting with Scarlett

Chapter 311 The Grand Prize
The way Cannes' grand prizes are selected has always been in the hands of the chairman, who has the power to determine how this year's awards will be selected.

If the chairman has a strong personality, he may turn the jury into a one-man show, and all awards will be given according to his ideas.

If the chairman has a calm personality, he may adopt a scoring or voting method.

George Miller adopted the voting system this year.

After watching all the films, the nine judges sat at a long table, waiting for the judging to begin.

"Come on, let's start with the grand prize." Unlike award ceremonies where the grand prize is presented as the finale, during the selection process, people prefer to determine the grand prize first and then select other awards.

This can also be seen as a balance.

Kirsten Dunst and Mads Mikkelsen were among them, of course, sitting across from each other and looking over their shoulders at chairman George Miller.

"Palme d'Or, I've made a list of seven films that I think can compete for this award. Would you like to hear them?" George Miller shrugged and read out the names of the seven films without waiting for anyone to speak.

"Unknown Girl, directed by the Dardenne brothers."

"I'm Blake, director Ken Loach."

“Just the End of the World, directed by Javier Dolan.”

"The Final Examination, directed by Christian Mungiu."

"America's Sweetheart, directed by Andrea Arnold."

“The Salesman, director Asghar Farhadi.”

"Nightcrawler, directed by Don Norton."

After saying a series of movie titles, George Miller paused for a moment and said, "Now, let's vote by movie title."

He looked at everyone's expressions and said the first movie title: "Nightcrawler."

Mads Mikkelsen raised his hand first, followed by Kirsten Dunst.

The two of them looked around and found that they were not alone, because the other six people raised their hands, and in the end only George Miller was left.

Just when everyone thought that Night Walker's votes were fixed at eight, George Miller suddenly said, "Night Walker, nine votes."

"Huh?" Everyone was a little surprised, but in the end they just smiled.

The nine people then voted on other movies.

Among them, "Graduation Exam" got 7 votes, and "The End of the World" got 8 votes.

The rest of the movies hovered around 5 or 6 votes.

It seemed that Night Crawler was about to win this year's Palme d'Or, but after the last film vote, something unexpected happened.

"I'm Blake, 9 votes."

Surprisingly, another movie received 9 votes.

Mads Mikkelsen and Kirsten Dunst looked at each other, then both looked at George Miller.

George Miller hesitated for a moment and said, "Then let's have another round of voting."

"Night Stalker, 1, 2, 3... 8 votes." This time it was George Miller who did not vote.

"I'm Blake, 1, 2, 3... 8 votes." This time it was Kirsten Dunst who didn't vote.

There were two rounds of voting, and the number of votes was exactly the same each time, so the two movies were at a stalemate.

George Miller thought for a moment and said, "Logically, a director who has won the Palme d'Or should not win it again so soon. But I think we can make concessions in front of a good movie."

"So my vote is for Night Walker."

After that, he announced: "This year's Palme d'Or will be given to Tang De's Night Walkers."

"Click, click!" At the Cannes awards ceremony, Tang De took the trophy from George Miller under the shining lights.

At a reception after the ceremony, he chatted with Ravi Sousa, the French business ministry official in charge of the Cannes awards ceremony.

She was a middle-aged woman, wearing a black evening gown and looked very elegant.

"Tang, congratulations on winning another trophy. To be honest, I have never seen anyone like you."

"Maybe God favors me more." Tang De smiled.

Ravi Sousa looked at Tang De's face and suggested, "Are you interested in being the chairman of the jury at Cannes?"

Tang De looked flattered: "Of course, of course I am free. It's my honor. If there is such an opportunity, please tell me."

"Don't worry. Although I don't have the final say on this matter, I think there will be no problem in adding you to the nomination list." Ravi Sousa felt that there was no problem with Tang De's qualifications and achievements. The only problem was his age.

Thirty-something is still too young.

Even if he is nominated, it may not necessarily lead other officials to choose this popular director.

After Donde finished chatting with Lavi Sosa, he went to chat with George Miller for a while, and then Mads Mikkelsen and Kirsten Dunst joined him.

"Tang..." Kirsten Dunst clinked glasses with Tang De: "I really like your work. Is there a chance for us to work together?"

"Of course." Tang De nodded: "You have a great image, there will definitely be opportunities in the future."

As he was talking, he saw Mads Mikkelsen eating beef, and immediately raised his hand and said, "Mikkelsen, to be honest, now I feel a chill down my spine when I see you eating beef."

Mads Mikkelsen shrugged. "Is that impressive?"

"Yes, it is very popular." Tang De laughed: "You and Hannibal are really alike, both of you have the same elegance."

"It seems I should change some of my habits." Mads Mikkelsen chewed beef, "Otherwise, if the police see me in the future, they might pull out their guns."

"Don't doubt it, it could really happen."

Not far away, many stars were looking at tonight's grand prize winner, but not many people were able to come forward and talk to him.

Most people met him by chance, then offered Tang De a glass of wine and exchanged a few words, and then they felt that the trip was worthwhile.

In higher-level banquets, Tang De also thrived like a fish in water, thanks to his reputation as a box office hit and a perfect combination of commercial and artistic performance.

And in the past few days, he has signed endorsement contracts with many luxury brands, with an estimated revenue of more than 50 million US dollars.

On the last night in Cannes, Don De lay in the bathtub on the top floor of the hotel, overlooking the small island.

In his arms, Scarlett, with a blushing face, was leaning.

She held the red wine glass and looked at the moonlight in the distance: "Tang, congratulations, you won the Palme d'Or again."

"It's okay. I'm actually not that interested in these awards anymore." When winning an award, only the moment of the award ceremony is worth remembering. When the trophy is placed at home, it becomes a medal to show to others.

"Then why are you still pursuing Oscar?" Scarlett turned to look at him.

"The Oscars, how should I put it? They are just a tool. I just use it to achieve my own goals. Just like every year the organizing committee uses awards to express its attitude towards society."

"Just like a gorgeous robe, it will be covered with lice sooner or later, so take a few while you can, and put them in the display case to brag about them later."

"Boasting?" Scarlett sighed, "I think from now on, you only need to say your name to convince others."

"It's difficult. Only Spielberg and Cameron have this ability, but I think I can do it in the future."

Scarlett got up from the water and sat astride Don.

"Humph." Tang De lay back comfortably, then looked at Scarlett's beautiful body and said with a smile: "Don't worry, you will definitely become the acting queen of Hollywood in the future."

(End of this chapter)