Laila looked at him with a bright smile. "Why should I be nervous?"
"Don't tell me you don't want that award." He wouldn't believe that even if she said it!
"I already know who the final winner will be, so what's there to be nervous about?" Laila shrugged.
Leonardo instantly perked up. "Who is it?"
"Guess." Laila smiled, making no move to tell him.
That made Leonardo sulk. "Roy! Laila is bullying me!" Who teases someone and then just runs away like that?!
Roy rested a hand on Leonardo's shoulder, looking serious. "Enjoy being bullied properly."
"..." Leonardo felt like he'd made a fake best friend.
Laila couldn't help bursting into carefree laughter beside them. Of course, she knew who would win Best Director at the Oscars—it definitely wouldn't be her. It had nothing to do with whether her film was good or not. Unless she had shot Blood Diamond to a level far above everyone else, she wouldn't win.
The reason was simple: she had already become an Oscars regular. No one doubted she would appear on that stage many more times in the future. So, when possible, the judges would rather give the award to others. It had almost become an unconscious choice: when she didn't win before, it was because people thought she was young and had plenty of chances ahead. Better to give it to the "veterans," those who might only get this one chance in their lifetime.
It was the same now. Everyone believed she would win again in the future, so when there was an outstanding, highly competitive film that wouldn't cause any public outcry, they naturally shifted their focus elsewhere.
Of course, this was unfair. Some judges didn't even realize they were doing something unfair, but that was the reality.
In the original timeline, Kathryn Bigelow won Best Director for The Hurt Locker, becoming the first female director in Oscar history to do so.
It should be more or less the same in this life. The only question was whether James Cameron, with Avatar and its record-breaking $3 billion box office, would stage a last-minute comeback, leveraging that historic success.
"The winner for Best Director is... Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker!"
While Laila was still lost in her thoughts, the result was already out—the same as in her past life.
At that moment, the cameras paused on the faces of each Best Director nominee. You could see Bigelow's surprise, Reitman's calm demeanor, Cameron's stiff expression, Tarantino's disappointed face, and Laila's gentle smile.
"In my heart, you're the best!" After seeing the result, Leonardo stretched his head out from in front of Roy, trying to comfort Laila.
"Thank you." Although she wasn't disappointed, Laila still appreciated his concern. She had deeply realized that history had tremendous inertia. Unless a very powerful force intervened to twist it, it would generally continue along its original trajectory. This was her biggest takeaway since arriving here—those blockbuster films from history still received love from audiences in this life as well.
Bigelow's win wasn't negated by Laila's presence. Instead, Hollywood's tolerance toward female directors had even slightly improved thanks to her influence.
In history, Bigelow also won both Best Director and Best Picture, becoming the final big winner. Now that she had taken Best Director, Best Picture likely wouldn't be far behind.
Laila glanced at her watch on Roy's wrist. "I wonder if little Eli is asleep by now?"
"He should be, right? When we attended the Golden Globes last time, he slept soundly." Talking about his son, Roy was filled with pride. "After all, he's my son. I heard other kids this age throw tantrums and cry endlessly if they don't see their parents for even a moment."
"I wish he would cling to me more." Laila felt a little regretful. Her little brother William had been like a doll as a child, so sweet and adorable that it made people want to give him their whole heart. But her kid—she had to use up countless brain cells just to coax out a single laugh. If she hadn't caught him secretly smiling at his toy with those little white teeth, she might have thought the kid was born without a 'laugh nerve'!
Yes, he did smile in secret. He rarely laughed in front of people—only when he was alone with his toys, babbling incomprehensible words, would he smile like a real child. Fortunately, he didn't know about the existence of surveillance cameras, or Laila would have kept worrying.
"I don't know who he learned that awkward personality from. Acting all tough in front of his parents instead of acting cute—how adorable would that be?! But no, he insists on acting like a little CEO from the moment he could stand!"
Laila's complaint made Roy laugh. "I think he takes after you."
"Me? When have I ever put on a cold face?" Laila immediately had to defend herself. She wasn't like that, okay?!
Roy looked at her with a grin. "Next time you're on set, I'll film your expression for you to see. You'll understand then."
What he didn't say was that while others might be terrified seeing her like that, he thought she looked adorable. Every time he watched her directing, it was a treat. Whenever she stood in the director's position, she shone as dazzlingly as the sun, making him want to get closer again and again.
"Am I really that scary?" Laila touched her face, suddenly a little guilty. If Eli's personality came from her, had she brought a mini typhoon into this world?
While the two whispered, the award ceremony on stage had moved on to the final highlight—Best Picture.
All the other awards reflected individual achievement, but only this last one belonged to the entire crew, which was why nearly every production team cared deeply about it.
There were ten nominees for Best Picture this time. Besides the works from the previously nominated directors, there were also some heavily discussed "dark horse" films included.
Among them, the ones Laila cared most about were probably District 9 and Up. The former was like an alien version of a transformation story; the latter was the first 3D animated film to snatch a Best Picture nomination.
Honestly, among this year's nominees, more than half of them could have won without causing much public backlash. That's how excellent they all were—a simple nomination didn't do their value justice.
In her original world, Chicago was once labeled the worst Best Picture winner in Oscar history, criticized for merely being released at the right time rather than for its true artistic value.
The presenter for Best Picture was Tom Hanks. As a two-time Oscar Best Actor winner, four-time Golden Globe Best Actor winner, and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in 2001, he was the perfect choice to present this most important award.