American Fame and Fortune Chapter 797

  Chapter 797: There is no chance of Pi

Beverly Hills, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

  In the small conference room of the Executive Committee, the current president of the academy, Tom Sherak, vice presidents Tom Hanks and Kathleen Kennedy, and executive director Klebert are holding a closed-door meeting on the "email door".

Tom Sherak asked Klebert: "Is the investigation of "Pi"'s email canvassing clear?"

Clebert said: "The source of the anonymous email is difficult to trace. There is no evidence that it was the crew of "Pi", but it cannot be ruled out."

In a closed-door meeting, he had few scruples when speaking: "In the past few years of Oscar public relations, it is not uncommon for film crews to solicit votes anonymously. The only difference for the crew of "Pi" is that they were stabbed by that steely man Ralph. When I came out, I was targeted by the media and reported wildly.”

Tom Hanks and Kathleen Kennedy looked at each other. Similar things had been done by their previous Olympic team.

 As we all know, there are some things that can be done but cannot be said.

Tom Sherak asked: "Does that mean we can't give a clear answer to the outside world now? Can't we eliminate the outside world's doubts about "Pi"?"

"Yes." Klebert was very cautious: "If we say that the crew of "Pi" is innocent, and TMZ later exposes the shocking news, the Academy will be very passive."

Tom Sherak said to Klebert: "You will continue to send people to investigate."

 Tom Hanks added: “In this regard, the college can also charge a fee as a fund for activities.”

 The rest of the people started to think about it.

The theme of the meeting was distorted, and "Pi" was no longer among their discussions.

“We have to find a way to block this road.” Tom Sherak didn't want to let email canvassing become the default reality: “Do you have any good ideas?”

Tom Hanks said: "I have a half-baked idea that can make the academy change from passive to active."

“A good idea.” Tom Sherak thought it was feasible: “In this way, we will formulate a policy first, and then we will seek opinions after this Oscar is over.”

In fact, the email scandal of "Pi" doesn't worry Tom Sherak that much. Even if it was done by their crew, they would just find a temporary staff such as a production manager or publicist to take the blame, and then withdraw from this Oscar. .

Kathleen Kennedy nodded: “There may even be cases where other people deliberately send such emails and then expose them.”

Kathleen Kennedy said at this time: "It is better not to give a clear answer to the outside world for the time being. It will not be too late until the situation becomes a little clearer."

He frowned slightly: "This is not the first time that this kind of email canvassing has happened, and it won't be the last time. If it is exposed in the future, it will still be difficult for us to handle."

Tom Sherak feels very clearly that the atmosphere of the Oscars is getting worse year by year, not only in terms of public relations, but also in the award criteria.

  After the 2013 New Year, the annual Oscar awards season has reached a critical voting stage. Nearly 6,000 Academy members from all over the world will fill out their Oscar ballots before late January and mail them back to the Academy's designated address.

Tom Hanks agreed: "We have expressed our attitude to the public and will seriously investigate the matter. Once verified, we will deal with it seriously."

 Klebert also had the same opinion. As long as the college does not act rashly, it will always be able to take the initiative.

Kathleen Kennedy is still thinking.

 Mid-January is the peak period for returning ballots.

  However, as the president of the college, we must consider the negative impact caused by this.

This honest-looking superstar is actually one of the shrewdest people in the industry: "Now the Academy has the email addresses of all members. Starting next year, it will be able to notify all film crews interested in participating in the Oscar competition. All electronic information sent to Academy members will be The Academy will send them in batches, and those who send them privately will automatically be disqualified from competing for the Oscars.”

Tom Hanks said: "With the current Oscars' public relations standards, it is extremely likely that a similar situation will happen again."

There is still no clear result in the "Pi" email scandal. During this period, the Academy's executive director Klebert was interviewed by the media, saying that the Academy is still conducting investigations and has communicated with all parties, and clear information will be announced as soon as possible.

These are quite detrimental to "Pi" and affected the voting choices of many judges.

 At the same time, new reports about "Pi" appeared in many media, and the reports tended to be positive.

"The visual effects of "Pi" are lifelike, and CG production is used to the point of pure passion. The use of computer special effects in this film is rare in recent years!"

“The main plot sequences of the film, including the scenes between the boy and the animals in the ocean, were all completed in front of the green screen in the studio and generated using CGI technology. Ang Lee created a visual spectacle just like "Avatar"!"

“This new film shot by Ang Lee is full of fantasy. No matter how vivid our review text is, it will not be as shocking as the light and shadow special effects created by the director!”

“This is a movie with a very beautiful picture. The sound effects and visual special effects have been achieved to the extreme, giving people great visual and auditory enjoyment.”

The praises are flooding in, almost overwhelming the mailbox.

  But these praises focused on the special effects, especially the use of CGI.

Ang Lee's new film is almost compared to the animated blockbuster "Avatar".

Lee Ang and Gil-Nate were stunned for a moment. The former asked the latter: "Our publicity budget is almost exhausted, and you have brought in more funds?"

 Gil Nate looked confused: "Isn't this a promotional article that you bought with your own money?"

 Lee An quickly shook his head: "No!"

Gil-Nette was a little surprised to hear that Ang Lee was not responsible. He quickly figured out the key and said: "The situation is not good and someone is plotting against us, deliberately making "Pi" a CGI special effects spectacle film!"

Ang Lee understood the key immediately: "CGI special effects films are naturally severely discriminated against in Oscar selections."

Most Oscar judges will not watch the candidate movies at all. Once they decide that it is a special effects spectacle film, awards such as Best Director and Best Picture will not be their first choice.

Gil Nate stood up quickly and said: "Hurry up and make a few more announcements. We must let people know that "Pi" is a film with artistic connotation and philosophical thinking!"

The two men hurried to put out the fire again. "

 PricewaterhouseCoopers, Los Angeles office.

For the past 20 years or so, PricewaterhouseCoopers has been responsible for counting the Oscar votes of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy mails out the ballots to its members. After the subordinate members fill out the ballots, the place where they are mailed is not the Academy, but PricewaterhouseCoopers in Los Angeles. Yongdao Office.

For an accounting firm of the size of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Oscar's business does not make much money, but it can bring huge publicity and chain effects.

Every year during the Hollywood awards season, PricewaterhouseCoopers will set up a special Oscar affairs office. Except for mobilizing elite cadres, unrelated business personnel are not allowed to enter the office.

Although the New Year has passed less than half a month, many Oscar nomination ballots have arrived in the mail. Several young accountants at PricewaterhouseCoopers make relevant statistics every day.

  She is not very old, lives in Los Angeles, and works in the entertainment industry, so it is inevitable for a few people to gossip.

  The work at hand was not too busy. Southgate was typing on the keyboard and said: "Have you noticed that after the email scandal broke out, there were obviously fewer votes for "Life of Pi" among the votes mailed in."

"No?" Greenwood was responsible for counting some minor category awards: "For best visual effects, best artistic direction, and best adapted screenplay, there were not many votes for this film."

Foden, sitting on the other side of him, said: “There are basically no votes for the performance award.”

 Southgate said: “There are also very few votes for best picture and best director.”

Greenwood immediately understood what was going on: “The email scandal had influenced the judges to not want to select 'Pi' for important awards.”

 Southgate, who is not the first to count votes, agreed: "Yes, the email door has hindered me. I don't know if 'Pi' will be nominated for Best Director and Best Picture."

Foden added: "There's definitely no hope for an acting award."

 The office door opened, a colleague brought in the latest mailed ballot, and several people in the room started assembly line operations again.

After counting the votes he had just received, Southgate handed them over to another person for review, and said: "I remember that "Pi" has a very good professional and audience reputation. The film quality is excellent, and Ang Lee is also a veteran of the Olympics. No matter what, we have to win at the Oscars this year, but the statistics are not good.”

Foden asked casually: "Did you get screwed by the email scandal?"

“It's not going to end.” Greenwood took over: “Based on my statistical data, it's not difficult to get nominated for several small category awards.”

Southgate clicked the save button: "It's the same as the acting award here. This film is useless."

Greenwood is puzzled: "The notorious Harvey Weinstein who brought the Oscars to **** is in jail to pick up soap. Why is the Oscars' public relations even more intense than when he was there, and his methods are even more... well, unsightly."

Foden shrugged: "Who knows what happened, maybe someone learned the essence of Xavi and took it a step further."

 Disney Studios, the soundstage where the "La La Land" crew is located.

 The male lead Martin and the female lead Saoirse Ronan walked hand in hand on the set. They turned around at the same time and smiled at the camera. The romantic love scene was like a fairy tale.

Director Damien Chazelle stood up and shouted: "Stop! It's over! I declare that the filming phase of "La La Land" is completed!"

 Everyone on the set breathed a sigh of relief. The filming lasted for more than two months, but in the later stages it was torture for everyone.

Since it involved 48 locations in Los Angeles and a large number of outdoor singing and dancing scenes, the shooting was much slower than planned, and the shooting cost increased by US$5 million.

Saoirse opened her arms to hug Martin and said, "Teacher, I hope to cooperate with you again in the future."

 Martin smiled: "There should be a chance."

　That night, the crew held a grand party, which was both a reward for all personnel and a way of publicity.

 (End of this chapter)

Chapter end