Director in Hollywood

Madonna's little surprise caused the Oscars' atmosphere to reach a climax that night. At that moment, the real-time viewership of the Oscars shot up considerably.

Tomorrow's gossip media would surely be even livelier, possibly featuring news about Leonardo DiCaprio as the third party intruding, or something like that.

However, considering Madonna's chaotic personal life, it's possible Madonna might be the third party, and DiCaprio could be the fourth.

One could only sigh and say, "This industry is really messy."

This small incident didn't affect the continuation of the Oscars.

After Juliette Binoche from The English Patient won Best Supporting Actress, other contenders finally began to stir things up.

Geoffrey Rush won Best Actor for Shine, while Frances McDormand took home Best Actress for Fargo.

The Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay awards went to Fargo and The Spring Knife, respectively. These two awards were presented by Naomi Watts and Cameron Diaz.

Finally, the awards reached the last two major categories.

Everyone knew that this year, Gilbert was on fire. He had already won the Directors Guild Award and the Golden Globe Award.

But no one knew if the Academy would intentionally hold back Gilbert because of his youth.

There had been no precedent for someone under thirty winning the Best Director Oscar, although many had been nominated.

In 1992, John Singleton was nominated for Best Director for Boyz n the Hood at the age of 23.

However, Singleton's reputation was nowhere near Gilbert's for two reasons.

First, Singleton was Black, and mainstream media would not actively promote him.

Second, his nomination was a result of Oscar's compromise with the Black movement, and to outsiders, he didn't deserve the nomination.

Singleton didn't have many works, and his most famous one was probably 2 Fast 2 Furious.

Because Gilbert had directed the Mel Gibson incident, Tim Robbins won Best Director at the previous Oscars for Dead Man Walking.

By tradition, the Best Director award was presented by the previous year's winner.

Tim Robbins took the envelope on stage, and Charlize Theron in the audience looked nervous, holding Gilbert's hand tightly.

The big screen displayed the five nominated films and their directors.

The faces of the nominees showed smiles, but some of them appeared forced, as this was a critical moment.

Gilbert patted Sally's hand and said, "Sally, don't worry, it's just a director award."

Leonardo DiCaprio, nervous for his friend, said, "No way, my palms are sweating. I'm so nervous, so nervous!"

Charlize Theron added, "This is your first nomination. Though we know the odds aren't great, we still hope you win."

Tom Hanks, with two Oscar wins and experience being nominated without winning, offered some encouragement.

"Relax, deep breath, Gilbert. We all know you're great. If you don't win this time, we'll try again next time."

Although Tom Hanks tried to be comforting, he understood that given Gilbert's filmmaking style, it would likely be a few more years before he would be nominated again.

As expected, Tim Robbins opened the envelope and read aloud, "The winner of Best Director is Anthony Minghella for The English Patient. Congratulations…"

Although Gilbert knew the chances were slim, hearing his name not called left him a little disappointed. But he quickly recovered, applauding and congratulating his opponent.

Though he didn't look in the direction of The English Patient's crew, Gilbert could almost see Harvey Weinstein's smug face.

The camera cut to the nominees' reactions, all of which seemed somewhat forced. But Charlize Theron, sitting next to Gilbert, had no expression on her face.

She was very displeased and whispered to Gilbert, "In my opinion, the Academy and the judges are blind. Why didn't you win the Oscar?"

"Relax, darling," Gilbert comforted her. "The Academy has to maintain balance. I bet Saving Private Ryan will definitely win Best Picture."

Tom Hanks agreed, "If they don't give Best Picture to Saving Private Ryan, the media will erupt tomorrow."

Although Tom Hanks had been nominated for Best Actor, he didn't expect to win. After winning two Oscars for Best Actor, he was satisfied.

Tom Cruise, however, wasn't happy. He had been nominated but didn't win.

For someone as arrogant as Tom Cruise, Geoffrey Rush was just a nobody, how dare he compete for the same award?

Unfortunately, the Oscars don't give awards based on how handsome an actor is or their fame. The Oscars have their own criteria, though there is some flexibility in their standards.

For people like Tom Cruise, the only chance of winning an Oscar is to become an award-hungry monster like DiCaprio. He might have to feed bears, tigers, lions, or sharks to have any hope.

After Best Director, the final major award was the announcement of Best Picture.

This year, the award was presented by Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino. As he took the envelope on stage, Gilbert knew Saving Private Ryan was going to win.

"Sally, don't be sad. Best Picture is ours."

"Really?" Before Charlize Theron could finish her question, Al Pacino announced the winner.

"The winner of the 69th Academy Award for Best Picture is Saving Private Ryan. Congratulations…"

As expected, the Oscars weren't about doing something unconventional. Saving Private Ryan was a quintessential American movie, reflecting American spirit and humanitarian values.

Even Washington recommended it to their younger colleagues. If the Oscars didn't give it the award, the media would come after them the next day.

More importantly, if the Academy did that, it would undermine its own credibility as the highest authority in film.

The Best Picture win was generally for the producers, not the directors. However, Gilbert, who often also served as a producer, could go up and accept the award.

Gilbert embraced those around him and went up with producers Charles Roven and Ken Wachsberger.

The two producers knew the audience wanted to hear Gilbert speak, so after a brief thank you, they handed the microphone to him.

Gilbert didn't say anything novel, simply thanking the staff, partners, actors, family, and fans.

Finally, Gilbert expressed his love for filmmaking: "I've spent my life chasing dreams, and film is my dream machine.

My dream journey has no end. I will keep making films until I can't anymore."

This speech delighted Gilbert's fans, and given his age, if he wanted, he could continue making films for another sixty years.

Of course, right now, with youth, energy, and vitality, it's not a problem. But when he's older, it's likely he won't be able to keep up with such a high-intensity work schedule.

The Oscars concluded successfully, with Saving Private Ryan winning Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score for a Dramatic Film.

The English Patient wasn't far behind, winning Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Art Direction, and Best Sound.

Still, Saving Private Ryan had the edge, and the only thing that left Gilbert's fans disappointed was that Gilbert didn't win Best Director.

After the Oscars ceremony, there was usually a celebratory dinner hosted by the Academy.

Perhaps due to the events at the Golden Globes, Madonna didn't dare approach Gilbert this time, fearing a repeat of her encounter with Naomi Watts. So, Gilbert was able to enjoy some peace.

The day after the Oscars, media reports started flooding in.

"Dual winners at the Oscars: Saving Private Ryan and The English Patient take home multiple awards. Anthony Minghella beat Gilbert to win Best Director, while Saving Private Ryan took Best Picture." — Los Angeles Times.

"The real winner this year is Disney. Both The English Patient and Saving Private Ryan were released by Disney subsidiaries and earned big wins at the Oscars.

Perhaps it's because they belong to the same company that this year's Oscars felt a bit less dramatic." — The Washington Post.

Most mainstream media outlets reported positively, satisfied with the distribution of the awards, suggesting that the Oscars' distribution strategy had been well-received.

However, there were some dissenting voices. Gilbert's loyal fan, Roger Ebert, criticized the Academy in his column.

"The Oscars have always been known for their bias against young directors. Because of his age, they didn't give Gilbert the Best Director award, which I find very disappointing.

The Oscars should be a stage of glory, fair and just, not one influenced by bias and discrimination."

This sparked a wave of support from Gilbert's fans, and Roger Ebert quickly gained popularity among younger moviegoers.

On the other hand, Kenneth Turan disagreed with Ebert's statement: "Just being nominated is the greatest reward for Gilbert.

The Oscars are encouraging Gilbert to make even better films in the future. There's no such thing as an issue with experience or bias."

Kenneth Turan also opened a Facebook account, where his comment immediately attracted a swarm of online fans who attacked him.

However, this also led to a group of people who didn't like Gilbert, or just wanted to be contrarians, opposing him.

This resulted in a massive online argument, which was likely the first major online battle since the advent of the internet and social media. But sadly, very few people outside the entertainment industry paid attention to it.

Aside from the reports, everyone's attention was drawn to Madonna's bold performance, followed by DiCaprio's impromptu kiss, which caused a stir.

Variety magazine described Madonna's fiery stage performance in vivid detail, accompanied by photos showing her see-through outfit and the short skirt that failed to cover her private parts.

That was just one part. The most explosive moment was when Madonna attempted to kiss Gilbert but was interrupted by DiCaprio, who pulled her into a passionate kiss instead.

The two performed a sizzling and daring kiss in front of all the guests, fans, and TV viewers, creating a peak in the evening's excitement.

Some media speculated that Madonna wanted to conquer Gilbert, and DiCaprio was just blocking the disaster.

Others believed that Gilbert and Madonna had already been involved, and DiCaprio was simply reacting out of jealousy.

Whatever the truth, at a time when the internet and social media weren't as advanced, celebrity gossip provided endless entertainment for people.

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