Chapter 295: An Unexpected Outcome
Chapter 295: An Unexpected Outcome
“Then can I sit beside you again next time?” With no reporters around, Virginia relaxed slightly and shot Eric a charming glance.
Eric smiled and pulled over the young woman’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “Of course, as long as you’re willing.”
Virginia glanced around. There were still several minutes before the ceremony officially began, and everyone nearby was fairly familiar with one another, so she did not pull her hand away and obediently allowed Eric to continue holding it.
At 4:30 PM Pacific Time, the 62nd Academy Awards ceremony officially began.
Having learned from the previous year’s ceremony, the Academy once again brought back a host for the event. It was Billy Crystal. In Eric’s memory, Billy Crystal had gone on to host the Oscars nine times altogether.
Many people wondered how someone without much fame in Hollywood kept appearing on the Oscars stage. In truth, Oscars hosts did not necessarily have to be Hollywood actors. More often than not, they were hosts of television talk shows. Of course, Billy Crystal and another famous Oscars host, Whoopi Goldberg, were among the most recognizable Hollywood figures to ever host the Academy Awards. Aside from being an actor, Billy Crystal was also a well-known host for programs like Saturday Night Live.
As usual, the opening segment consisted of musical performances tied to the nominated films. Crystal sang tributes to this year’s nominees one by one, including My Left Foot, Steel Magnolias, The Others, and Driving Miss Daisy. Since the transitions were witty and he occasionally teased the guests in the audience, the performance proved surprisingly entertaining.
After the Best Supporting Actor award wrapped up the major early segment, a long series of relatively minor awards followed. More than twenty minutes later, the famous actor Steve Martin — nicknamed “the White-Haired Elder” in Hollywood — finally stepped onto the stage, causing Eric to perk up slightly.
Because the next award was Best Original Score.
The piece Eric had “borrowed” for Running Out of Time, “Unspoken Love,” had received a nomination.
“Excellent musical scores can make a film even more outstanding. So first, let’s take a look at the nominees for this year,” Steve Martin said, gesturing toward the big screen.
Segments from the nominated films’ scores began appearing on screen one after another.
“The nominees for Best Original Score are ‘Kiss the Girl’ from The Little Mermaid, ‘I Saw Your Smile’ from Parenthood, ‘I Used to Be That Kind of Girl’ from Shirley Valentine, and ‘Unspoken Love’ from Running Out of Time.”
After introducing the nominees, Steve Martin opened the envelope in his hand, glanced inside, then raised his head in slight surprise and searched the audience. His gaze locked onto Eric for half a second before quickly withdrawing.
“The winner of this year’s Academy Award for Best Original Score is… ‘Unspoken Love,’ from Running Out of Time.”
Wow—
Before the melody of “Unspoken Love” even began playing, a perfectly synchronized gasp of surprise erupted throughout the hall, and countless gazes immediately turned toward Eric.
Eric himself stood up with a somewhat disbelieving expression. He quickly embraced the people around him one by one before smiling as he walked toward the stage.
After receiving the Oscar statuette from the presenters, Eric stepped up to the microphone. He rapidly organized his thoughts, swept his gaze across the audience below, then smiled and said:
“This really is unexpected. I never imagined the first Oscar I’d win would actually be for Best Original Score. Though… the statuette is a little heavier than I imagined.”
A wave of laughter rose from the audience below.
Once the laughter subsided somewhat, Eric continued:
“A little over a year ago, I was still just an unknown young man who had only recently come of age. Because my father suddenly passed away, I had to drop out of school and work at an Italian restaurant.
“Then one day, all of a sudden, I felt that I couldn’t keep living like that anymore. I had to do something. I absolutely had to do something. The urge was incredibly strong. So I began trying to write my first novel and my first screenplay.
“Fortunately, with the help of some people, I succeeded by sheer luck and made it all the way to today.
“Since I was young, I’ve always loved music. After receiving payment for Back to Seventeen, I bought my first piano. During my spare time, I would occasionally fiddle around with melodies, then awkwardly write them down on sheet music. ‘Unspoken Love’ was born from one of those moments of inspiration.
“I’m not a professional composer, so winning this award is very unexpected.
“Here, I want to thank all those who helped me along the way. Mr. Michael Klaus, who helped publish my first book. James Brooks and Penny Marshall, who gave me the chance to enter Hollywood. Jeffrey Hansen, who helped me complete my first film and silently supported me throughout the following year.
“And finally, the beautiful women from my films. Oh… alright, don’t laugh, I’m serious. Thank you. Thank you, all of you.”
Even without a prepared draft, Eric still managed to finish his acceptance speech at a rapid pace. Then, together with the two presenters, he walked backstage.
By the time Eric returned to his seat, the Best Makeup award, which followed immediately after Best Original Score, had already been presented, and the presenters were introducing the nominees for Best Foreign Language Film.
When two people Eric was not especially familiar with announced Camille Claudel as the winner for Best Foreign Language Film, Eric’s expression shifted slightly as he looked at the somewhat neurotic-looking woman on the big screen.
“What’s wrong? Inspiration striking again?” Virginia asked teasingly.
Eric shook his head. “Nothing. I just suddenly thought of a few people.”
“Why not just say you thought of a few women?” Virginia softly teased again.
Eric smiled. She was right. He really had thought of several women.
The one currently appearing on the big screen — Isabelle Adjani — along with two other women: Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci.
Eric had always felt that although Isabelle Adjani possessed the best acting skills among the three, Sophie Marceau came second, while Monica Bellucci was little more than a beautiful vase, appearance-wise the three women shared many similarities. In his previous life, Eric had once seen someone comment that Isabelle Adjani looked like a fusion of Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci.