At six o'clock in the afternoon, the awards ceremony officially began.
This year's host is still Billy Crystal.
However, it may be that there are too few bright spots in the nominated films this year. Billy Crystal pretended to be on the stage with a DV in hand, claiming that he planned to make an ultra-low-budget film with a zero budget. I have not lost my invoice, and I can return it directly after the shooting is completed.
This situation is naturally teasing "The Blair Witch", which is creating a miracle at the box office. "Xiaoguo" is really good.
However, the subsequent awards ceremony was really lackluster.
Under the powerful public relations offensive of the Weinstein brothers, "The Horse Whisperer", which was already full of controversy at the nomination stage, won many important awards such as best picture and best director. Eric believes that in the next period of time, there will definitely be a wave of discussions in the media questioning the fairness of the Olympic Awards. At the same time, the Academy woke up to the fact that Miramax's life in the next few years would not be easy.
As for "Elizabeth" on Firefly's side, the result was even more unexpected. Although it received many major nominations, it ended up with nothing.
Eric originally thought that Cate Blanchett might have a chance to win the Oscar for Best Actress when she was nominated for the first time, but he still underestimated the conservativeness of the Olympic judges after all. The best actress this time finally fell on the veteran British actress Judi Danzi.
Just after the ceremony, Eric was stopped by the director of the awards ceremony, Louis Horwitz, who also took Eric to meet the hostess named Laura Spencer on the red carpet.
Robert Iger also called from New York.
There is something to deal with here, so Eric first sent Nicole to the "Vanity Fair" party at the Hilton Hotel. He himself answered Robert Iger's phone at the backstage of the awards ceremony, and at the same time took a resume from Louis Horvitz File, looked at the content, and couldn't help but glance at Louis Horwitz and Laura Spencer.
I just mentioned a word, and sent this girl's resume. What is he going to do, to prove that this woman is over 18 years old
Noticing Eric's eyes, Louis Horwitz felt a little bitter.
Before the awards ceremony was over, Louis Horvitz received a call from his colleagues at the ABC headquarters in New York. The ratings of this Oscar live broadcast were simply horrible. The minimum number of viewers even dropped to 37 million, and the average number of viewers may not Exceeded 40 million.
As one of ABC's well-known showrunners, Louis Horvitz has directed the Oscars more than once, but tonight's everything he didn't expect. You know, in the past ten years, the average number of Oscar viewers has never been lower than 40 million.
Although everyone knows, this is mainly because this year's Oscar-nominated films are too lacking in highlights.
However, the big boss called him over before the awards ceremony, accused the messy red carpet ceremony in front of him, and most importantly said, "I hope the next awards ceremony will not be like the red carpet ceremony." Blanket such a mess'. Now, Louis Horwitz is not sure if the award ceremony is a mess in the mind of the big boss, but the minimum viewership of 37 million is definitely a mess, which makes Louis Horwitz very nervous. I had to make a hasty phone call to New York, hoping that Robert Iger, who single-handedly promoted him, could say a few words for me.
He randomly found a sofa and sat down. Eric ignored Louis Horvitz and Laura Spencer who were standing beside him. He raised his legs and put Laura Spencer's resume on his lap. , while talking on the phone with Robert Iger. The staff who were wrapping up the awards ceremony noticed the situation here, and avoided it wisely.
Robert Iger's explanation made Eric a little dumbfounded.
This bad red carpet ceremony boils down to this year's lackluster nominations.
Since the popularity and topicality of Oscar-nominated films this year are very low, which has seriously affected the enthusiasm of advertisers, the advertising bidding price of this awards ceremony has also hit a record low, usually around 1.2 million US dollars per 30 seconds. But only a little over 1 million.
The advertising revenue dropped sharply, and the academy took advantage of the opportunity to cut the budget of the awards ceremony, and even shortened the Oscar red carpet, which is usually about 200 meters long, to less than 150 meters long. The Oscars red carpet has always been the most crowded of all major movie ceremonies. This time it was suddenly shortened by a quarter, but the number of guests did not decrease at all. It is no wonder that it is not crowded.
Although Eric was very dissatisfied with the college's stingy business of shortening the length of the red carpet, he couldn't help too much. I feel uncomfortable.
After Robert Iger finished explaining, he took the initiative to bring up the matter of Laura Spencer.
Eric then opened the resume on his lap.
It turned out that last year, the two ace anchors Joan Langdon and Charles Gibson of ABC's daytime news program "Good Morning America" resigned one after another. Before that, "Good Morning America" had always been the highest-rated program in the morning. , which is closely related to the popularity of the two ace anchors.
After the two left, the ratings of "Good Morning America" suffered a heavy blow. During this period, the ratings were even overtaken by NBC's "Today Show", which had been firmly suppressed for ten years. Laura Spencer is one of the national correspondents who have just been promoted to revive Good Morning America's ratings as ABC executives overhaul the show.
After listening to Robert Iger's explanation, Eric was also relieved.
National correspondent, the name sounds very high-end, but in fact, it is definitely a very cumbersome job. Unlike news anchors who only need to be stationed in the studio, ABC's national correspondent not only needs to attend some studio interviews, but also often needs to be a front-line reporter to visit the scene in person.
You know, this is ABC's morning news between 7 o'clock and 9 o'clock every day.
The interview in the studio is okay. If you need to visit the scene in person, you may even have to go to the destination the day before. At least you have to get up very early to prepare. From this point of view, this can even be called a very hard job. .
Moreover, the resume in his hand made Eric have no prejudice against Laura Spencer at all.
This blond girl who looks like she might be in her early twenties is already thirty years old this year.
In the resume, the other party is not only a scholarship recipient of the University of Pennsylvania, but also a national diving athlete. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in broadcast journalism, he has worked in the media industry for eight years. The work experience of these eight years is also brilliant. He can handle the work of reporters, producers, photographers, and editors skillfully, and even won an evaluation of 'a-one-man-band', a-one-man- Band, one person and one band, with a little understanding, you will know how high this is.
Arranging Laura Spencer as the Oscar red carpet host this time is also to increase the other party's popularity and increase the attention of "Good Morning America" in disguise.
Eric has always admired those women who are both beautiful and hardworking, because there are too few women who can do both.
After chatting for more than ten minutes, Eric hung up Robert Iger's phone, got up and handed the resume in his hand to Louis Horvitz, and reached out to Laura Spencer, saying frankly: "Okay, Laura, I apologize for my previous prejudice, you are really outstanding."
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Williams."
Laura Spencer was flattered and held Eric's hand. She was still a little nervous just now, worried that she would lose the job just a few days after being promoted, and even a little angry with Eric Williams, a senior. The boss is angry, does a beautiful woman have to be a vase
However, as Eric reached out to her, the dissatisfaction in her heart disappeared immediately. After all, she never expected that the big boss would take the initiative to apologize to her.
"Then, get on with your work," Eric said to Laura Spencer, then withdrew his hand and said something to Louis Horvitz, and was about to leave, noticing that Laura Spencer was still the same In a beautiful pink wide-shouldered deep V dress, she said to the girl again: "Laura, are you going to the Vanity Fair party? Do you want a ride?"
Laura Spencer had just relaxed, and when she heard Eric's words, she immediately picked up her little heart again. She immediately remembered that her boss is a famous playboy. The reason why she is still wearing a dress at this time is only because she has been nervous until now after hearing what Louis Horwitz said, and she has no intention of changing clothes at all, let alone going to any party, and her identity is not at all available. Tickets to the Vanity Fair party.
Eric noticed the change in Laura Spencer's expression, and quickly realized something, smiled, and said, "Forget it, see you next time."
However, just as Eric turned around, Laura Spencer's voice came from behind him: "No, Mr. Williams, I, I do."
Nicole and the girls were at the "Vanity Fair" party, and Eric couldn't do anything even if he had other thoughts. He just mentioned it casually. At this moment, seeing Laura Spencer's face about to die generously, she couldn't help but smile, but said, "Okay, let's go."
Watching Laura Spencer and Eric walk out of the backstage together, Louis Horvitz rolled up the resume in his hand and patted it on the palm of the other hand, shaking his head with envy and sighing: "Pretty woman."
Stepping out of Dorothy Chandler Hall, Eric and Laura Spencer got into the car together.
The driver started the car and left the city center. Eric looked at the reserved look of the girl beside him and asked with a smile, "Do you have a boyfriend?"
Laura Spencer froze for a moment, her eyes flickered for a moment, and she shook her head honestly: "No, no."
"Oh," Eric nodded noncommittally, and said, "It would be great, maybe you can call him to come with you, so that you won't be like a vigilant little hedgehog now."
Laura Spencer relaxed a little when she heard Eric say it so bluntly, and asked boldly, "Mr. Williams, do you have a girlfriend?"
"Yes, they are all at the "Vanity Fair" party, and they will definitely keep an eye on me later, so you can rest assured."
When Laura Spencer heard Eric's words, she couldn't hold back immediately, laughed out loud, and grabbed a certain word jokingly: "They?"
"Well," Eric nodded: "They."
"Mr. Williams, you are very frank."
"Actually, it's not a good thing to be too frank in front of beautiful women."
Laura Spencer blinked and said, "That's not necessarily true. Maybe some women like frank men. It's not good to talk too much."
With a smile on the corner of Eric's mouth, he said as if pointing: "Then am I making a mistake?"
Laura Spencer unknowingly relaxed, and countered a little: "What you said must have been premeditated."
"You are biased," Eric pretended to be dissatisfied, "I just apologized to you for my own prejudice."
Laura Spencer said with a smile: "I have produced proof, Mr. Williams, surely you can't produce it?"
"It seems that I can only use time to prove it. When the time comes, remember to owe me an apology."
"OK."
"Speaking of which," Eric changed his posture slightly so that he could appreciate the beautiful girl next to him more easily, and at the same time asked curiously, "Why do you want to be a correspondent? This is not an easy job?"
"Because this position can be transitioned to TV anchor more quickly," Laura Spencer felt Eric's gaze, but she didn't have any defenses, but said with confidence in her tone: "Actually, I think I can already I am qualified for the position of news anchor.”
"I can't promise you this right now, young people should hone their skills more."
Laura Spencer looked at the young man who was actually a year younger than herself, and said, "Mr. Williams, it's really weird for you to say that."
Eric reacted and smiled: "Well, I think so too."
"hehe."
After chatting like this, I arrived at the Beverly Hilton Hotel before I knew it.
Getting off the car in the parking lot, looking at Laura Spencer who was inevitably a little restrained at this kind of party for the first time, Eric stretched out his arms to the girl and said with a smile: "If you don't mind waiting, there will be no male guests Dare to strike up a conversation with you?"
Laura Spencer blushed, she took the initiative to take Eric's arm, and said softly, "Thank you, Mr. Williams."
Eric took her into the Hilton Hotel and said with a smile: "Actually, I have selfish intentions. You know, I never persuade beautiful girls to find boyfriends. I would rather they find girlfriends."
Feeling the gazes of the guests around her, Laura Spencer whispered, "Mr. Williams, do you have to be so frank?"
"You can call me Eric."
This turning point was a bit inexplicable, and Laura Spencer wondered: "Shouldn't this sentence be said when the two just met?"
"No, you don't want me to be honest with you, so I think we can enter the next stage."
Laura Spencer suddenly wanted to pinch the man next to her, just like Nicole Kidman did during the red carpet interview. However, she only dared to think about it, and said, "Well, I think it is necessary for me to insist on calling you Mr. Williams."
The two came to the media area outside the "Vanity Fair" party hall. Eric took the initiative to let go of the girl who was holding his arm, and said: "By the way, come and find me when you leave, and I will send you back to the hotel."
Laura Spencer felt Eric let go of herself, feeling a little lost in her heart, but shook her head and said, "No, Mr. Williams, I can go back by myself."
Eric didn't insist either, and gently pushed the woman towards the media wall, saying, "Go over and have fun."
Laura Spencer walked to the media wall, and the reporter's crazy flashlight fell on her, but the woman's eyes couldn't help following the man's figure around the interview area until he disappeared at the entrance of the party hall.