King of Hollywood-Chapter 62 - : Rapid Progress
Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Rapid Progress
“Your coldness and cruelty shock me, Dufresne,” the judge declared icily, “even in your presence, I can feel that chill. On behalf of the Maine Supreme Court, I sentence you to two consecutive life sentences, to be served one after the other, effective immediately, with no parole and no appeals!” With the judge’s harsh verdict, Andy Dufresne’s face turned deathly pale.
Next naturally came the clanging of prison gates, what greater blow could there be? The shot looking up at the prison gate as they entered was suffocating to viewers, and the Prison Warden’s blunt statement, “Give your soul to God, but your body is mine,” gave a preliminary glimpse into the despair within the prison.
However, it was unexpected that most people—both Red in the film and the audience in front of the big screen—thought Andy would sob uncontrollably on his first night in prison, yet he accepted his situation very calmly. As Red said during yard time, among these prisoners, he seemed like a free man.
The story continued to unfold with Red thriving in prison, the brutality of the guards, and the perversity of “Three Sisters” all being revealed as the plot progressed. The audience felt worried and outraged but also puzzled; did Andy actually kill his wife?
That question seemed to be hinted at during the roof repair scene, when Andy risked being thrown off by the captain of the guards to get his fellow inmates three beers each. Under the morning sunshine, the prisoners drank the refreshing beer, while Andy watched them with a smile, like a normal worker taking a break.
As Andy helped the captain of the guards with tax evasion, he came to the attention of the Prison Warden and was moved to work in the library alongside Morgan. Then he began laundering money for the Warden. He was becoming institutionalized, just like Morgan, who appeared to be on parole but eventually hanged himself in his room. Andy’s effort to write to the State Parliament for funding to build a library seemed like a last struggle, until “The Marriage of Figaro” echoed through the prison.
“That day I didn’t understand what those two Italian ladies were singing, and I didn’t want to…” Red’s voice-over began, but in the audience’s heart, another line resonated: some birds aren’t meant to be caged, their feathers are just too bright!
Finally, the climax was nearing. Tommy, imprisoned for theft, cleared Andy’s suspicion. Unfortunately, the Prison Warden wasn’t planning to advocate for him; how could he let a prisoner who knew his secrets escape his control? Andy angered the Warden and ended up in solitary confinement; despite his struggles, he failed and even cost Tommy his life.
Was everything over? When the audience learned that Andy had taken a several-feet-long rope from a friend, and when the camera lingered on Andy sitting silently on his bed, with Red saying “Everyone has their breaking point,” the audience held their breath. At this point, no one wished to see a tragic ending.
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Indeed, they didn’t witness one. The plot took a sudden turn; the camera panned out from the tunnel through which Andy escaped, capturing the Warden’s twisted face. As Andy meticulously planned and crawled through the foul-smelling sewer, and when he extended his arms under the rain looking up at the night sky, the deeply moving music allowed the previously suppressed emotions of the audience to erupt, filling the theater with a collective sigh of relief.
The film finally ended, all villains received their punishment, and Red, who had sincerely repented because of Andy, also received parole. Then, they reunited and embraced on a sunny beach.
The lights in the theater came on, there was silence for a few minutes before a sudden burst of applause erupted. Initially, it was just one person clapping, but soon more joined in, and even more followed, until the enthusiastic applause nearly lifted the roof.
“It seems people really enjoyed this movie,” Adrian said with a hint of pride, watching the scene unfold from a private box. Laverne glanced at him without a word and started writing something in his notebook.
Soon, a staff member brought over the feedback from the screening. Holding the statistical chart, Adrian whistled, “Look, Laverne, the ratings are mostly between 8 and 9, with a few 10s. As for the comments, they’re all within my expectations, we can ignore them.”
“It’s indeed an exceptional film.” Laverne nodded in agreement.
“Then, I’ll notify Universal and leave the promotional work to you,” Adrian said, watching him intently.
“I understand.” Laverne paused his writing, looked up seriously, and nodded again.
He was well aware of the reason Adrian spoke so solemnly— the Oscars! As the most influential film award in the United States, the honor represented by the Oscar statue was incomparable to other awards — be it the Golden Globe Awards, the Directors Guild Awards, or the Critics’ Association Awards. Every year, the onset of the Oscars would spark an intense battle, as film companies would exhaust all means to promote their films and the actors starring in them, from the nominations to the award wins.
Just as Adrian had said, all award ceremonies were merely a division of the cake—whether it was the European film festivals or the Oscars—anyone eligible to participate could hope to get a slice, but whether they could actually secure a piece depended on their promotional and public relations strategies.
Generally speaking, for a film or an actor to get nominated and win an award, promotional and public relation efforts accounted for at least 40% of the success, especially when it came to winning the award, where this percentage could increase by another 5 points. That was unless the film or actor had an undeniable advantage, such as when 90% of film critics and the public unanimously believed that the film or the actor deserved to win, or if the gap between them and the other nominees of the year was too vast.
It might seem unacceptable that the judgment of such a widely recognized film awards ceremony was not based entirely on fairness and justice. However, the reality was disappointing. Being human, judges could be influenced and biased, and it was certain that they would have subjective opinions about certain movies.
As long as the promotion was in place and public relations were robust, judges would naturally lean towards certain films and actors subconsciously, casting their votes in their favor. The Film Academy had thought of measures, such as having 5000 members as judges, which indeed ensured a certain level of fairness. After all, compared to the Golden Globes, which had only 99 judges, influencing 5000 people was no easy task.
Nevertheless, this fairness was only to a certain extent. Despite its large appearance, fewer than half of the 5000 members of the Film Academy could significantly sway the judgment, just like the European film festivals, where the saying power of judges from the host country was always significantly larger. Therefore, after ensuring quality, competition beyond quality became the main factor determining the outcome. If one held massive promotional tools, making it possible for judges to see, hear, and notice them at any time, that party was almost invincible. Such was the power of the media.
Of course, ordinary people wouldn’t see these machinations. They would only see the various predictions by critics, the spectacle on the Oscars red carpet, and the glamorous scenes but would neither notice nor realize the myriad activities happening behind the scenes—this, again, was the power of the media.
Thus, Adrian had fulfilled his promise to produce a film qualified for nomination. Whether it could secure an entry ticket for next year’s Oscars now depended on Laverne’s promotional efforts.
“Alright, then let’s discuss another issue,” Adrian promptly changed the subject, “the preparation for the new movie.”
Laverne displayed a bitter smile, unsure of what to say. Adrian’s pace was too fast and too grand, making him feel like he couldn’t keep up. Undeniably, since he had acquired Bossworth Film Company, the two low-budget, high box-office films he personally produced had immediately changed the previously moribund situation of the company. Particularly, ‘Memento’, which earned just a few million less at the box office than ‘Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels’, had won an exceedingly high reputation, a scenario Bossworth Film Company hadn’t seen in several years.
Besides, his vision for investing in movies was also exceptionally sharp. For instance, ‘Terminator 2’ in July had already surpassed 400 million in global box office earnings, with several countries yet to release it, and the final worldwide total could possibly exceed 500 million.
Since they had a good start, they naturally should proceed cautiously and steadily, but Adrian had chosen to charge ahead instead. While ‘Memento’ was still showing, he began preparing for the mid-scale investment in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’. This time, his target was not any film festival, but rather the Oscar statue itself! Besides, he had invited Spielberg to direct ‘Jurassic Park’, and was planning to collaborate with Disney for a live-action version of ‘Casper’.
Alright, Laverne admitted that ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ was an outstanding movie and fully deserved to compete for the Oscars. He also acknowledged that with ‘Terminator 2’ as a precedent, if ‘Jurassic Park’ could produce realistic dinosaur CG, it could well be a big hit; and ‘Casper’, with its accumulated popularity as an animation, could also make a fortune as long as the director and producer captured the selling points correctly. However, not only did Adrian not slow down, but he also became even more frantic. ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ had just finished post-production, and he was already planning a new movie, preparing to produce three films within the next year and even boasted of propelling one actor and one actress to the podium, as well as securing a Best Director nomination.
As a veteran in the entertainment industry, Laverne had seen many arrogant, obsessive, and quirky directors and producers, but Adrian was a first of his kind. He was neither arrogant nor obsessive and was very cultured. However, once it came to movie-related issues, he became incredibly confident, as if he was always right. Indeed, Adrian’s capabilities were indisputable, and so far, he had been right, but the question was, could he keep being right forever?
Maybe… he could? Although he had expressed concerns about Adrian’s methods long ago, deep down, Laverne couldn’t help but want to witness another miracle unfold.
(Well, I admit I’m still setting up the scene. No wonder someone said my book starts slow. But thankfully, the hook I planted in the first chapter is going to be resolved soon, and the protagonist is about to start establishing his position.)
