King of Hollywood

Chapter 382: Chapter 103: Trip to Japan (1)

The tabloids’ favorite thing is these gossip stories because gossip means they can freely embellish under the guise of “possible” and “speculative” labels, which also means increased income. As for whether it will have any negative impact on the parties involved, that’s not within their consideration. After all, why would celebrities be confused with ordinary people just because of the saying “celebrities are people too”?

So, various versions of the love triangle quickly appeared in the tabloids. Although “The Mask” was produced by Bossworth, its connection with Adrian wasn’t very deep—at least not as deep as Blanchett’s in “Speed”—and his closest relationship within the cast was actually with Jim Carrey. Plus, the focus of “My Best Friend’s Wedding” was on Adrian and Julia, and the lines like “according to sources close to the matter” were all for deflecting responsibility in fabricating stories. Therefore, the initial version didn’t have much credibility.

Moreover, Cameron Diaz herself was rather clever in her ambiguous response to reporters, “He’s a charming man, very handsome. I would love to date him if he ever asks me out.” Although some tabloids immediately claimed she was showing love to the Miracle Director, it also effortlessly debunked the rumors of the love triangle. That was also why Adrian didn’t mind having a friendly match with Cameron. Even though the woman was promiscuous, she understood her place and knew what she could or couldn’t do. After all, it’s always better to have a woman with discernment for a friendly match.

But tabloids are tabloids after all, their ability to concoct stories is first class. As the rumors of the love triangle faded, they instantly fabricated another angle. The most plausible version suggested that the role of Cameron in the love triangle was actually someone else. Adrian had used his own experiences as inspiration for “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and even cast Julia as the female lead!

So who was this other woman? What did Adrian want to tell Julia? Who did he choose in the end? The buzz generated more heated discussions, as people excitedly debated these gossips.

Unfortunately, the situation didn’t last long because a few days later, a piece of news stole most people’s attention—the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the 68th Oscar Awards! The movie “Braveheart,” directed and produced by Adrian, secured ten nominations, and they were all very significant ones.

Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress—just these four awards were enough to astonish, not to mention nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, and more. Although the original version also got ten nominations, it didn’t include Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress but did get Best Makeup and Best Cinematography.

Adrian was also surprised by these changes. He had put a lot of effort through his team’s PR to secure Sophie’s nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Although she performed fairly well in “Braveheart,” her getting a nomination was still a stretch, let alone winning. However, Kevin Spacey’s nomination for Best Actor came very naturally—he simply applied and then got it.

Upon reflection, it wasn’t so surprising. In any case, Best Director always carries more weight than Best Actor, as evidenced by the award sequence where Best Director is always second to last. So Mel Gibson’s complete relinquishment of the Best Actor in pursuit of Best Director made sense as his directorial skills weren’t outstanding and, to put it exaggeratedly, depended largely on the extremely emotional last cry for “freedom.”