America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

The Oscar, the ultimate award of Hollywood, haunted the dreams of industry giants like Spielberg and George Lucas.

Even Daniel Day Lewis, possessed with obsession, was willing to settle in Los Angeles for two years, spending an entire year doing public relations for it.

Leonardo, ever so suave and rebellious, ran the race year after year.

"Can we not talk about running the race?" Seated in the second row, Leonardo whispered to Martin while the camera panned away and the big screen played commercials, "I send you a wish."

Nicholson unveiled the truth, "Quick, plug your ears, Leo's surely casting a curse."

The Trio of Scoundrels always swung left and right internally, nothing but opportunistic petty figures.

Martin didn't care, "Leo, if you dare to send it, I dare to receive it."

Leonardo said, "I wish that starting from this year, you run the Oscar race for ten years."

Martin responded with the same rhetoric, "I wish that after you run for ten years, you continue to run the Oscar race for another ten years."

Leonardo suffered a fatal blow, and subconsciously wanted to unleash his triple deadly move.

Martin quickly reminded him, "We're live at the Oscars, be serious." He purposefully said, "I won't run the race for that long."

Leonardo glanced at Martin's profile, "With that face and body of yours, which old man wouldn't be envious or jealous? Wait until you're old and weather-beaten, the awards will naturally come."

Martin, however, said, "I'll soon ruin this face and change my physique and demeanor, so people won't recognize me."

Nicholson, a fence-sitter, now leaned to the other side, "Leo, I have a knife here, you can help Martin ruin his face."

Seeing the award presenter taking the stage, Leonardo told Martin, "Remember this precious race-running experience, because you'll savor it for ten years."

Last year's Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress, Renee Zellweger, walked onto the stage, approached the microphone, and in sync with the images playing on the big screen, read out the five nominees for Best Supporting Actor.

"Ellen Arkin, Martin Davis, Djimon Hounsou, Eddie Murphy..."

She opened the envelope, glanced at it, and announced the most popular name, "Ellen Arkin!"

Amidst applause, 70-something Ellen Arkin stood up, embraced the crew, waved to all sides, and strode onto the stage to accept his award.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Martin had anticipated this result and was very calm, clapping with a smile.

Host Ellen Degeneres took the stage, starting off with boring American jokes, and after a mini-climax with the male and female supporting actor awards, she moved on to a series of technical awards.

These were still okay, but the most tedious part was the endless retrospective segments.

The Academy's core members aged year by year, and the older they got, the more nostalgic. In recent years, every Oscar's nostalgia segment grew longer and longer.

Thus, at this time during every ceremony, the Oscars' viewership hit its lowest point.

Even many viewers only tuned back in for the four major awards.

However, nostalgia still had its attractions, unlike the almost insanely chaotic ZZZQ, which plunged the Oscars' viewership and influence into unprecedented lows, even turning it into a bona fide niche group's carnival.

Martin was dozing off; halfway through, he served as a presenter, handing out the Best Cinematography Award and then went backstage.

The backstage was somewhat chaotic, with many behind-the-scenes staff buzzing around, some presenters and winners taking the opportunity to chat, and others seizing the chance to take photos together.

"Could we take a photo together, Martin?" A young woman with auburn hair approached with her assistant, looking at Martin expectantly, "My name is Emily Blunt, I've been a fan of yours ever since 'Zombie Stripper'. I even went to learn the zombie machine gun dance specifically because of you."

As she spoke, she twisted her waist and thrust her hips to demonstrate, "I could never do it as fast as you."

Though familiar with these gestures, Martin nodded, "Sure."

Emily Blunt happily jumped over, slung her arm through Martin's, and signaled her assistant to take a photo.

The assistant quickly took several shots.

"Thank you, Martin," Emily said delightedly.

Martin felt like he was looking at his former self, "You're welcome."

She left swiftly, next finding George Clooney, exchanging a similar conversation with him and taking a photo together.

Despite gaining some fame, climbing up the ranks was too difficult for a minor star, and it wasn't something that could be achieved merely by stripping.

Martin didn't inquire where Emily Blunt had learned his authentic moves; he went to the bathroom, and when he came out, he headed to the corridor, ready to return to the main hall.

At the entrance to the hall, he encountered Annie-Hathaway.

Annie had cut her hair short, sporting a neat short sweep, and upon seeing Martin, was reminded of their breakup.

A great love had been ruined by her own hands.

Annie murmured, "Martin..."

Martin nodded, "Good evening, Annie, you're as beautiful as ever."

Annie asked, "Can we find some time to talk alone?"

Martin pointed at his watch, "The Best Actor award is about to be presented, and my brother is nominated."

Annie paused slightly, then quickly understood Martin was referring to Leonardo, infamous in Hollywood as one of the villainous brothers.

"We'll talk another time," Martin said as he entered the hall.

Watching Martin walk away, Annie's vision turned dark, and she quickly braced herself against the wall, filled with an overwhelming sense of regret: "The best love, I ruined it, ruined it!"

She thought of Martin's scandals and felt a pang in her heart: "Because of me, he no longer believes in love and has become a playboy, it's all my fault!"

Annie was too pained to go back and simply turned around and walked towards the exit.

In Hollywood, who of her age could compare with Martin?

The more Annie thought about it, the more her heart ached,

Martin returned to his seat just as last year's Best Actress, Reese Witherspoon, announced the Best Actor winner: "Forest Whitaker!"

Applause broke out as the tall, burly black man ascended the stage.

Countless eyes, along with a camera lens, were all trained on Leonardo.

Year after year he strives, and year after year he's the bridesmaid; Leonardo's Oscar obsession would only deepen.

When the camera moved away, Martin comforted Leonardo, "Don't feel sad, don't be upset, it's no big deal."

Leonardo nodded, thinking to himself that this guy finally said something human.

"Because it'll be the same next year." Martin's tone shifted, becoming less sympathetic: "And the year after that, still the same."

Nicholson burst into laughter: "Leo, the ten years of blessings you gave Martin have fallen on you."

Leonardo really didn't want to talk anymore; if he could contact Satan, he would sacrifice these two teammates, asking for nothing in return.

Tonight's theme was to honor the elderly, with Helen Mirren, who was in her sixties, walking away with the Best Actress Oscar.

Then, Spielberg, Coppola, and George Lucas came onto the stage together.

Three of the four great directors were present, with Scorsese sitting among the audience.

The symbolism couldn't be more obvious!

"The three of us have three Best Director Oscars," Coppola began.

Spielberg followed up: "Standing here, who doesn't have a Best Director Oscar?"

George Lucas looked resigned: "Can I say that I don't have one?"

The jokes dissipated with laughter. After completing their scripted dialogue and announcing the nominees, Coppola opened the envelope, and the three of them announced into the microphone: "The Best Director is Martin Scorsese!"

Long-anticipated applause erupted thunderously. Scorsese's tears flowed after nearly forty years of directing; he finally received the award he most coveted.

Martin was quick to respond, turning back to embrace Scorsese: "Congratulations, Director."

Scorsese laughed heartily and hugged other members of the crew.

As he moved towards the stage, Martin waved his arms, signaling for everyone around to stand.

Nicholson, with the thickest skin, stood in the aisle waving at everyone around.

Leonardo turned to the back and also gestured for people to stand up.

All the guests around stood up, prompting everyone else to gradually rise.

The entire audience stood, and the applause was thunderous.

As Scorsese went up on stage, he turned back and saw the three acting fools dancing about and couldn't help but smile.

After greeting old friends, Scorsese received the Oscar statuette representing Best Director and approached the microphone, beginning to thank everyone frantically.

He rattled off twelve 'thank yous' in one breath.

Then, Scorsese moved on to thanking specific individuals, including Martin.

"The success of this film owes much to its actors. Thank you, Leo, we've worked together for six and a half years, and I hope we can work together for another twenty. Thank you, Martin Davis, you are very courageous and very insightful. Thank you, Jack, the head of our Trio of Scoundrels.

So, I thank the Trio of Scoundrels for not ruining our crew but instead pushing each other to achieve a remarkable performance!"

Amidst the applause, the camera shifted to Martin, Leonardo, and Nicholson.

The trio stood shoulder to shoulder, their smiles genuine and their demeanor reminiscent of Tom Hanks.

As the camera turned away, Leonardo asked, "Aren't we stealing the spotlight?"

"No," Martin replied, "When you win an award, Jack will go on stage, pull down his pants, and moon the audience. That's stealing the spotlight."

Nicholson sighed, "I figure by the time I meet God, Leo still won't have an Oscar for Best Actor."

Leonardo sat down with a thump: "When I get an Oscar, I'll melt it down into two middle fingers to give to you guys."

Nicholson advised, "Martin, after you get your Oscar, don't do that. Those without Oscars will be heartbroken, and if they get depressed, that would be bad."

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro arrived on stage to present the final grand award.

The two had worked with Martin Scorsese so many times that their presence alone meant the Best Picture award was no longer a surprise.

As expected, the winner announced by Al Pacino was "Infernal Affairs."

Producer Graham King called up all the main creators of the crew to the stage to accept the award for Best Picture together.

Martin also made his first appearance on the stage, but alas, it wasn't for an individual award.