Scarlett Johansson was one of Laila's favorite actresses, especially for her portrayal of Black Widow—a smart, formidable female character. Among a crowd of superheroes, she never seemed weak despite lacking superpowers. On the contrary, her agility and combat skills often made her stand out, catching viewers off guard in the best way.
Of course, the role itself was written that way, but with the wrong actress, who knew how it might have turned out?
Back when Laila shot Iron Man ahead of schedule, she nearly missed the chance to cast Scarlett as Black Widow. It was only when she saw the cast list for the sequel that she urgently requested someone sign her on.
There were quite a few promising new-generation actresses. Scarlett was one of them. Anne Hathaway—who had just announced the Oscar nominations with the Academy President in February—was another. Jessica Alba and Kirsten Dunst were also doing well in the current scene, and their stars were clearly on the rise.
"What are you looking at?" Roy leaned over, following Laila's gaze to see where she was staring.
"Scarlett. Don't you think she has… yingqi?" she replied in Chinese, referring to a particular kind of spirited charisma. She felt there wasn't a precise equivalent in English.
Roy blinked at the unfamiliar word. "Yingqi?" Like... tomboyish? He wasn't quite sure if she was complimenting Scarlett or not. "Do people use that word to praise women? Or is it a backhanded comment? I'm still not sure I understand this Eastern concept."
"It's like… a woman who's cool," Laila tried to explain in English. But honestly, she felt English lacked the richness of Chinese. There just wasn't a word that captured exactly what she meant. "It's a blend of masculine charisma and feminine beauty. Not overly tough, but still powerful. 'Cool' is the closest I can think of."
She used several phrases trying to capture the meaning, leaving Roy only half-comprehending. "So... you like her?"
Bulls-eye.
"You got it. But it's also that I like the characters she plays—Black Widow, for one. In Lu—" Laila caught herself just in time. Lucy hadn't come out yet. "Anyway, I just really like her!"
Roy chuckled. "Alright, alright, I get it. You're a fan. But you've been staring at her so hard, haven't you noticed she's starting to look uncomfortable?"
"Really?" Laila hadn't even realized.
Roy shook his head, amused. "Imagine you're an actress, and the most prominent director in Hollywood is staring you down without blinking. How would you feel?"
Fair point. Laila had to admit, that it probably was a little intense. Too bad she hadn't directed Iron Man 2—otherwise, she might've had the chance to work with Scarlett and chat with her.
"You think if I go talk to her after the ceremony, it'll scare her?"
Roy considered. "Hmm... probably not. I mean, you're Laila Moran. I doubt there's an actor out there who'd turn you down."
Roy had firsthand experience with this. Many of his friends were actors, and he'd often hear Laila's name mentioned in conversation. Strangely, the overwhelming consensus was to describe her as "a bit scary." Honestly, he suspected they were holding back—if they weren't trying to be polite in front of him, they might've said "very scary."
It puzzled him. To Roy, Laila was adorable, beautiful, gentle—the best kind of woman. Why did people find her frightening?
Well, if they had worked with her before, he could understand it a little. Laila was known to be tough on set, constantly pushing for perfection. But most of those people had only seen her from afar. What were they so afraid of?
He'd had a similar conversation with Leonardo once, and it only made him more convinced his friend had no taste—and he was just grateful he wasn't such a fool himself.
Still, no matter how "scary" people claimed Laila was if it meant being in one of her movies, actors would jump at the chance—no matter how difficult the shoot. Even playing a corpse or a background extra with no lines was worth it, considering how much attention and acclaim her films received worldwide.
So when he said Scarlett wouldn't turn her down, he meant it.
Before they could continue chatting, the music swelled, signaling everyone to return to their seats. The hosts had taken the stage, and the Oscar ceremony officially began.
Blood Diamond, with its intense war sequences, made great use of sound design and unique editing techniques. Some of these approaches were experimental choices by Laila herself—and clearly, her experiments had paid off. The film's Oscar nominations were proof of that.
This year, ten films were nominated for Best Picture. Throughout the ceremony, each would be introduced one by one.
Traditionally, the category had five nominees. The sudden increase could be seen as a mixed blessing. Laila knew that in the years that followed, the Oscars would continue with nine or ten nominations for Best Picture.
The benefit, of course, was that more films could gain exposure. Each year saw countless releases, and many excellent works risked being buried. As for the ones that never made it to theaters… well, the Academy couldn't help with that. One of their key rules was that a film must have had a theatrical release to qualify.
Even a limited run in a few small cinemas would suffice. But if a production couldn't even afford that, how good could it possibly be?
As for Laila, the categories she felt confident in this time were Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. With Avatar and The Hurt Locker in the race, she figured the technical awards—sound, effects, and so on—would mostly go to them.
And indeed, things played out more or less as she expected:
The Hurt Locker won Best Sound Editing, and unsurprisingly, Avatar took Best Visual Effects.
While Laila remained a major presence in the industry, this time, she was slightly outshone by Cameron and Bigelow. The ex-spouses each brought remarkable films to the table, turning their rivalry into one of the most talked-about showdowns in Oscars history—something that hadn't happened in Hollywood for a long time.
After A Serious Man was introduced as one of the Best Picture nominees, Jake Gyllenhaal and Rachel McAdams stepped onto the stage.
They were presenting the award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
As they began their speech, Laila instinctively sat up straighter in her seat.
She wasn't the original screenwriter, but her contributions to the script revisions were just as significant as Andrew's. Being nominated was already encouraging—but come on, who doesn't want to win?