Chapter 496: Chapter 496: Nomination Announcement
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Keke, happy birthday to you—”
As the sky darkened, the decorative lights shone with beautiful colors, and the yard adorned with colorful balloons was bustling with activity. The cheerful singing rose in unison, and on the long table, there was a large cake with a candle burning brightly, its flame dancing energetically. Standing around the table were quite a few people, the guests celebrating the little birthday star. It was Keke’s first birthday.
This year, the 10th just happened to fall on a Sunday, and Wang Yang and Jessica had organized a family gathering for their daughter, inviting relatives and some friends who were in New York, along with their dogs. From the morning when the guests began to arrive, the garden had been lively all day; children laughed and played, chasing each other and enjoying some rented children’s play equipment. At one point, a “mysterious monster” dinosaur costume scared the children into shrieks, and Jaden played the hero, unexpectedly giving the performer a good beating—it was all in fun.
It had been a long time since they had had so much fun, and Danny had fallen asleep on the lawn early from exhaustion. This winter in New York wasn’t very cold, possibly due to global warming or something, with December 1st recording a near 70 degrees Fahrenheit (about 21 degrees Celsius), setting a record high for the month. It wasn’t cold enough to chill the belly.
By evening, Keke, who had been dressed up pretty and cute in the morning, was now disheveled with sand and mud all over her body. Coupled with her original outfit of red denim overalls, she looked like a spirited tomboyish figure. At this moment, she stood on a chair, her face showing fatigue, but her large round eyes shone with curiosity as she gazed at the candlelight on the cake. She had no concept of a birthday, only finding it very amusing and enjoyable.
“Huff, huff—” Once the birthday song was over, everyone cheered and began clapping. In Michelle’s arms, Mathilda was nodding off, barely able to stay awake. Her head suddenly drooped again, and Joshua shouted, “Next up is—wish time!”
“Sweetie, GO-GET-IT!” Jessica encouraged Keke. Although they had explained earlier, Keke still seemed puzzled and looked questioningly at her parents. Wang Yang reminded her, “A birthday wish is something you want, an object, a state, anything.” Jessica laughed, “Like wanting a doggy doll, or to fly like a bird, or to go to the park every day…” Everyone smiled and watched the little angel in thought. After a moment, she suddenly said, “I don’t want to eat vegetables.”
The crowd paused, surprised by her contrary wish, but they found her childlike innocence endearing and interesting, and they were also amazed at her wit.
“Wow,” Wang Yang held back his laughter; it looked like the baby wouldn’t be a vegetarian in the future. Jessica shook her head helplessly, “That won’t do.” Wang Yang gently patted his daughter’s head, “Make another wish! And remember, don’t say your birthday wishes out loud.” Keke was once again deep in thought.
Looking at her innocent and cheerful face, Wang Yang and Jessica felt a happiness and satisfaction beyond owning the whole world. The scene of the baby’s birth from the same day last year was still vivid in their minds; it seemed like she had grown up in the blink of an eye. But it was only after becoming parents that they realized how challenging the first year of life could be, with new situations arising every day. The difficulties, beauties, and changes they had experienced were now all pleasant memories. Having raised her to be a healthy, happy, smart, and cheerful baby was their proudest achievement.
Keke stared at the candlelight for a while and seemed to come up with an idea, showing a smile as if she had to announce it to the world, and shouted gleefully, “I won’t sleep!” That way, she could play nonstop!
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“Sweetheart, blow out the candles! Blow out the candles!” Wang Yang and Jessica led the cheering and clapping, certain that this wish would not come true—they expected she would fall asleep after eating the cake. Everyone else chuckled good-naturedly, and under a round of applause, Keke blew out the candle flames—it was her first birthday!
Next was naturally the cake-cutting part of the celebration. Mathilda had already fallen asleep and missed out on the birthday girl’s cake; while Keke ate a small piece, eagerly anticipating the moment her wish would come true. It felt like it was already working—she didn’t feel sleepy at all! However, as the excitement of the day eased and her nerves relaxed, she leaned against the chair and unknowingly closed her eyes, drifting into dreamland. Even when Jessica picked her up and placed her in the crib, the birthday girl showed no reaction, sleeping so soundly that she didn’t even murmur in her dreams.
Having a barbecue in winter was particularly enjoyable, and although the birthday girl was not present, the yard was still filled with merriment until late, when the guests finally started heading home.
When Keke woke up from a long sleep, she found herself in her room with the sky outside the window already blue with white clouds—it was a beautiful day. Yet she hadn’t forgotten her beautiful wish. She sat up, jumped out of bed, and shouted repeatedly, “Mommy, Daddy!” Could someone who made a wish still fall asleep? To prevent little Sweetheart from losing faith in wishes, Wang Yang gave her a romantic explanation, “Actually, sleeping is a way to go to another world. You have some good friends in your dreams and you go to play with them when you sleep each day.” It was mostly casting pearls before swine—Keke didn’t really understand.
Wang Yang had arranged for the traditional grabbing ritual for that day. It was supposed to have taken place the day before, but she had fallen asleep. Of course, they treated this activity merely as a bit of fun, not believing that such a gesture could determine a child’s future ambitions, nor did they plan to focus on nurturing her based on this result. She didn’t even fully understand what those items were or what they were for; but indeed, the ritual could reveal what she was most interested in at that moment.
All the items for the grabbing ceremony were laid out on the couch. With a whoosh of the red cloth, various objects appeared: books, pens, an abacus, a microphone, a DV camera, a camera, a Teddy bear, lipstick, a pretty dress, an Oscar for Best Director, a mouse, a spoon, a harmonica, building blocks, a toy gun, a basketball…
“Hmm, mmm, hmm…” Keke looked at the pile of items in front of her, babbling to herself. Could she only pick one? She seemed conflicted, stretching out a little hand in one direction, then pulling back, and reaching out in another direction…
Another DV camera was recording the event, and the photographers, Wang Yang and Jessica, standing beside it, couldn’t help but feel a bit of tension. Whatever she grabs will be fine, but baby, please decide quickly! What could it be? Then they saw on the DV screen, Keke’s hands reaching towards the couch; finally, she grabbed…
“Oh!?” Both of them widened their eyes in the moment, “Yiya yiya! Haha!” Keke laughed heartily as she pounced onto the couch, hugging a whole heap of items, bursting with joy. The little one was being cheeky!
※※
Days passed, and on December 14th, the annual Golden Globe Awards were set to announce their list of nominees!
This year’s film registration deadline was November 10th. Before that, several highly anticipated films had registered, with “Little Miss Sunshine” (Musical/Comedy category) and “The Deceased” (Drama category) being FF’s main contenders for the 06-07 awards season, with both movies signing up for every award they could compete for; “Mamma Mia!”, “The Illusionist,” and “The Prestige” were targeted submissions, presenting a formidable force.
Well-planned submissions could pay off greatly, or one might risk leaving empty-handed. For example, in “Notes on a Scandal,” both Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench had leading roles, and both delivered great performances. However, considering that if Blanchett competed for Best Actress, not only would she and Dench be pitted against each other, but she would also be competing against herself (“The Good German”), which led Fox Searchlight to nominate her for Best Supporting Actress, as Blanchett in “The Good German” appeared to be a more fitting contender for Best Actress.
“The Deceased” didn’t worry about such things and nominated Heath Ledger and Michael Pitt for Best Actor; and Nicholson, Spacey, and Wahlberg for Best Supporting Actor; even Natalie and Knightley, who had minor roles, were submitted for Best Supporting Actress.
To the surprise of many, the current favorite “Little Miss Sunshine” only put 10-year-old Abigail Breslin in the running for Best Supporting Actress instead of Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy, a move that industry insiders and cinema enthusiasts could only interpret as a rare misstep by Flame.
Having registered, the names clearly needed to be promoted. On December 1st, the list of nominees was sent to the judges, and by the 11th, Ernst & Young had collected the submissions. In theory, completion of registration meant eligibility for selection, even if the judges had never seen the movie, they could still cast a vote.
In fact, whether the judges had thoroughly viewed all the candidate movies has always been a topic of debate. How to leave a lasting impression on the judges depended on the distributors’ tactics, but no matter how slick the campaign, no one would vote for a film that was poorly made, lacked a judges’ screening, or hadn’t been released. “The Deceased” was finished in early December, just in time to catch the last train, considering that the cut-off date for movie screenings was December 6th, and the press conference deadline was the 7th.
So, “The Deceased” completed production on the 1st and had less than a week for promotion, but one advantage of having a big director was special attention from the judges. An invitation to view the film of the great Wang Yang, who was already highly regarded from the last Golden Globes and Academy Awards for Best Director, was not something anyone would want to miss.
It was the first public appearance of the “Pokémon” filmed concurrently—how would it perform? The world’s media and the public were very curious, as were expectations for potential winners like “Hero Director,” “Blood Diamond,” and others.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am Lorraine Nicholson, and this is the scene of the 64th American Film and Television Golden Globe Award nominations announcement. Up next, you will see the best films and television works of 2006 being honored.”
The familiar introduction sounded from the NBC channel on the television; at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, in front of the glass podium, stood this year’s Golden Globe Miss Lorraine Nicholson (the 16-year-old daughter of Jack Nicholson and Rebecca Broussard), who was smiling youthfully and charmingly. She opened the envelope in her hand and read aloud, “First to be announced are the film awards, and the nominees for ‘Best Original Song’ are: ‘Bobby,’ ‘Never-Gonna-Break-My-Faith,’ Bryan Adams, Eliot Kennedy…”
Whether it was the dimly lit early morning in Los Angeles or the clear dawn in New York, countless viewers had gotten up specially to watch the live broadcast, and many nominees were feeling tense.
“Hahaha! Wow— you can’t escape!” “Ah—”, “Here comes the Dinosaur!” Keke, who didn’t like to sleep, was already awake and chasing her father around the living room, laughing and running. This time last year, she could only cry, lying in her parents’ arms, waiting to be fed, but now she ran as fast as the wind. Jessica wouldn’t miss the moment of the Golden Globe nominations. She believed that soon, her phone would receive many, many congratulatory texts. Seeing the announcements were starting, she whispered, “Sweetheart, let’s be quiet for a moment, Keke, come over to Mommy.”
Wang Yang and Keke stopped in their tracks. He saw a yellow jacket that hadn’t been tidied on the sofa, his eyes twinkled, and he smilingly asked his daughter, “Baby, do you know what the Golden Globes are?” Keke shook her head, not understanding, and Wang Yang secretly picked up the jacket and suddenly threw it over Jessica’s head, laughing, “This is it!” Seeing her mother’s head covered with the garment, Keke found it hilariously funny and laughed ‘oho’. Jessica, however, got angry. She snatched the jacket off, throwing it aside, and glared at him, “Jackass, could you please sit down! This is…very serious!!”
“Mommy’s mad.” Knowing he had caused trouble, Wang Yang quickly made a few gestures at Keke, whispering instructions, “Tell Mommy, you love her.” Keke, obediently marching forward, patted her mouth and blew a kiss to her mother. Jessica smiled radiantly at her, embracing Keke and planting a big kiss on her, but then turned her head and threw a severe glare at Wang Yang. Speechless, Wang Yang walked over, also gave a kiss gesture, and wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter, watching the television together. At that moment, Keke, intrigued, started to mimic the word, “Jackass, jackass.” The two of them quickly diverted her attention, “HEY, HEY, HEY…”
“The nominees for Best Supporting Actor are: Ben Affleck, ‘Hollywood Manor’; Eddie Murphy, ‘Dreamgirls’; Jack Nicholson, ‘The Deceased’;” as she read her father’s name, Lorraine’s smile grew even wider, and she continued, “Brad Pitt, ‘Babel’; Mark Wahlberg, ‘The Deceased’.”
“Here are the nominees for Best Screenplay: Guillermo Arriaga, ‘Babel’; Patrick Marber, ‘Notes on a Scandal’; Peter Morgan, ‘The Queen’; Aaron Sorkin, ‘The Great Director’; Wang Yang, ‘The Deceased’.”
“The nominees for Best Actor in a Drama are: Leonardo DiCaprio, ‘Blood Diamond’; Heath Ledger, ‘The Deceased’; Peter OToole, ‘Venus’; Michael Pitt, ‘The Deceased’; Forest Whitaker, ‘The Last King of Scotland’.”
With Lorraine’s words, the big screen behind her displayed the photos and names of the nominees, showing Heath with a shy smile, and Michael with a calm demeanor. Cheers erupted from the television audience—a great harvest! And everyone in the industry couldn’t contain their surprise; without the voices of the media and public, and only a few days of official promotion, both had been nominated. What did this mean? Those two guys’ performances were shocking enough! Just like the earlier Best Supporting Actor and now Best Screenplay, could ‘The Deceased’ be a bad film?
Soon, Lorraine announced another highly anticipated award nomination: “The nominees for Best Director are Clint Eastwood, ‘Letters from Iwo Jima’; Stephen Frears, ‘The Queen’…”
At this moment, the hearts of all the fans of Yang were suspended. Would Wang Yang be nominated for the second year in a row? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)