"Sir." A polite salutation startled the pensive Franklin Leonard, who looked up to see the waiter standing in front of him, with a plate of champagne in his hand, smiling and casting an inquiring look.

Franklin looked down, and then noticed that his glass was empty, which is why the waiter stepped forward to ask questions so professionally. Franklin had planned to take another glass, but after looking left and right, he felt that there was no need to pretend with a glass of champagne, so he simply put the empty glass back on the tray, and gave the waiter a polite smile to thank him.

Watching the waiter turn away and walk towards Michael Mann and Graham-King not far away, Franklin's gaze couldn't help but move over, looking at the noisy scene, a little dull for a moment.

These two producers of "The Aviator" attended today's nomination luncheon, "The Aviator" is undoubtedly the biggest favorite for this year's Oscars, which also makes the two people the focus of the audience, and there is an endless stream of people around them, at this time, the two people are surrounded by Kate Winslet, Laura Linney, Julie Delpy (Julie-Delpy) and others, the atmosphere is very lively.

Franklin was only five steps away from them, but none of that had anything to do with him, the space of five steps separated two worlds, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break the barrier, which made his chest a little dull.

As a film and television pre-development manager, he didn't qualify for the Oscars, nor did he qualify for Oscar nights, and even the nomination luncheon seemed out of reach. More often than not, he's just an "insider" in the company, like a vampire who can't see the light, hidden in obscurity in a cage made of steel and concrete.

But the fact is that he is just a film practitioner, and he has nothing to do with those spotlights, has nothing to do with those flowers and applause, and is not much different from those ordinary white-collar workers. Attending the nomination luncheon today, it was only because the two producers of "Soul Singer" were absent that there were two vacancies in the crew's attendance, and one of the substitute colleagues who attended had skin allergies, so he won the qualification to appear.

He originally thought that he would usher in a breakthrough in his career, after all, this is the Oscar nomination luncheon, with all eyes on it, flowers, singing and dancing; He originally thought that he had dug up the script of "Soul Singer" and recommended it to Taylor-Hackford by himself, which would at least be a stepping stone for him to do a miracle in awards season......

However, he was still too naïve.

For star-studded Hollywood, there is not much difference between a film and television pre-development manager and a waiter. Looking away from Michael, Graham and the others, and through the crowd, you can clearly see the triumphant Jamie Fox—with a big smile on his face, talking left and right, and the joy between his brows can be felt even if he is separated by a dozen yards; As the work of "Soul Singer", Bole stood alone in the corner and no one cared.

"Jamie Fox is so likable, isn't he?" A soothing and friendly voice rang in his ears, but Franklin didn't feel anything unusual, just subconsciously shrugged his shoulders, pursed his lips, and subconsciously replied in an ironic tone, "Who says it's not?" ”

After the words were spoken, Franklin reacted - it was not a self-question in his mind, his eyes caught a figure, and then his gaze came into contact with the other party's eyes, and the indescribable embarrassment instantly jumped from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and there was a tingle.

“…… Mr. Strello. Franklin said hesitantly, his brain fell into a brief blank, and he immediately recognized the person in front of him, who was the hottest celebrity of 2004, Lancelot Strello, but he felt that his brain was a little bit overwhelmed, for example, why did Lance appear here? For example, he didn't say anything inappropriate to himself just now, right?

"Lance." Franklin watched as the other party raised the red wine glass in his right hand and handed it over, and there was still a wine glass in his left hand, so, this wine glass was specially for himself? Franklin didn't react, and the other man continued, "Maybe you prefer champagne?" ”

"Nope." Franklin finally came to his senses, "No, no. Quickly took the glass, "I like red wine, I like red wine very much." He felt like a fool, all the surprises came so quickly that he didn't feel the joy, only the fright, he didn't even know how to deal with it, and in Lance's eyes, he must be ridiculous!

Franklin took a sip of red wine in a panic, but almost choked himself, raised his eyes in embarrassment, looked at Lance, and then saw a pair of smiling eyes, kind and friendly, without any ridicule or ridicule, "Today is the first time I have participated in such a grand event, and you must be too." It's always hard to find a suitable outlet for nervousness. Lance not only did not avoid the topic, but took the initiative to bring up the "nervousness", which made Franklin feel slightly relieved, a little embarrassed, but more relieved.

"So, maybe a little fresh air helps." Following Lance's words, Franklin looked at the surging crowd, and realized the deep meaning of Lance's words. He was suggesting that the two of them had taken refuge in a corner, just to avoid the urgency of the crowd. This not only eased the atmosphere further, but also relieved Franklin.

In just two sentences, Franklin felt a lot more relaxed. Lance picked up his red wine glass and took a sip, "I haven't asked for advice yet, you are ......"

Franklin suddenly realized his faux pas, and hurriedly raised his red wine glass in respect, "Franklin Leonard." I am...... Uh...... "Franklin knew he was nobody, and he wanted to find an accurate title to introduce himself, but he couldn't find a high-sounding name, which made him speechless for a while, "Uh, the pre-film and television development manager at Universal Pictures." Franklin only thought of this word, a stupid and speechless appellation, which made Franklin shake his right hand and almost spill the red wine.

"So, you dug up the 'Soul Singer'?" Lance didn't seem to notice Franklin's embarrassment, but instead showed a curious and inquiring look.

This made Franklin overjoyed, "Yes. But then he noticed that his voice was trembling slightly, and Franklin had to drink two sips of red wine to finally calm himself, "That's my job, you know, reading countless scripts, and then finding the right project, submitting it to the producer or director, and finally facilitating the production of a work." Talking about his work, Franklin's discourse organization finally smoothed out, and the whole person bloomed.

"Actually, people didn't think much of the script at first, but I thought it was a treasure trove, and at my insistence, Heckford nodded and agreed to join the project." Franklin unconsciously lowered his voice, as if he couldn't wait to share such important information, but didn't want to appear too eager, so he took another sip of red wine to let himself breathe, "Later, Heckford himself joined in the writing of the script and reworked the whole story. Honestly, I feel like he did a great job and unfortunately didn't get the Oscar recognition. ”

"Soul Singer" failed to take a place in the nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

After the words were finished, Franklin realized that the person standing in front of him was one of the top five in the best original screenplay, and under the emotion, he seemed to have too much to say. This caused Franklin to stop talking sharply, and the whole atmosphere suddenly seemed a little jerky.

Luckily, Lance didn't let the atmosphere stiffen, but chuckled and said, "I think at the nomination stage, this work has already made a lot of show. The slightly jealous tone made Franklin chuckle, "Soul Singer" and "Murder with a Knife" can be regarded as dark horses in the Oscar nomination list. "However, it must be admitted that Ray Charles's life is truly admirable!"

The script of "Soul Singer" is actually not excellent, the script deliberately weakens the discrimination and persecution of blacks in that era, and also deliberately weakens the fetters and obstacles of blindness to Ray's career, focusing more on the lifelong entanglement of childhood nightmares on the superstar, focusing on the contradictions and conflicts between this musical genius and his personal life. This is undoubtedly a huge loss for the film as a whole, standing at the height of the work, the script is incomplete or even a failure; But it made Jamie Fox a stage for his one-man performance, and I have to say that from this point of view, the script was a success.

Lance's praise was not too exaggerated, but it was just right, which made Franklin feel very comfortable, but not too proud, and the smile on his face was naturally outlined.

"Picking a script is always a hassle, isn't it? Especially picking out a book with potential from countless scripts,It's like looking for a needle in a haystack.。 Lance continued on the topic, "I can't imagine how tedious your job is, and of course, I don't want to experience it!" ”

Looking at Lance's frightened expression, Franklin raised his eyebrows as if he had found a soulmate, "You come and tell me!" After a pause, Franklin could not hold back, and continued, "Every day, we have to read thirty to fifty plays, God, every day!" And more often than not, the work is useless, unimaginable, I spent a month and couldn't even find a suitable script to use, that frustration ......"

"So, when you discover a script like 'Soul Singer,' you feel more fulfilling, isn't it?" Franklin's response stunned Franklin before he burst into laughter. (To be continued.) )