Chapter 295: Accident

"Can I sit next to you next time?" Now that the reporters were gone, Virginia relaxed a bit and gave Eric a flirtatious look. Eric smiled and took Virginia's hand in his, squeezing it gently. "Of course, as long as you want to." Virginia looked around. The ceremony was about to start in a few minutes, and everyone around her was familiar. So, she didn't pull away and allowed Eric to hold her hand.

It was 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time, the 62nd Academy Awards ceremony officially began.

Learning from the last ceremony, this time, the ceremony once again had a host, Billy Crystal. Eric remembered that Billy Crystal had hosted the Oscars nine times before.

Many people are puzzled as to how this relatively unknown Hollywood figure always manages to appear on the stage of the Oscars ceremony. In fact, the host of the Oscars does not necessarily have to be a Hollywood actor. Many times, it is the host of a talk show. Of course, Billy Crystal and another famous Oscar host, Bob Hope, can be said to be the most famous hosts in Hollywood. In addition to his actor identity, Billy Crystal is also a famous host of shows such as "Saturday Night Live".

The show began, as usual, with a medley of nominated films, with Crystal singing and praising films such as "My Left Foot," "Steel Magnolias," "The Others," "Driving Miss Daisy," and so on. Because the lyrics were very wonderful, and he made a few jokes to the guests below, it made people listen with interest.

After the climax of the Best Supporting Actor award, there was a series of unimportant small awards. It wasn't until more than 20 minutes later, when famous actor Steve Martin, also known as "the Hollywood elder statesman," took the stage, that Eric felt a little more alert. Because the next award was for best original score. The piece "Silent Love" that Eric copied from "Running Out of Time" was nominated.

"An outstanding score can make a movie even more exceptional, so let's take a look at which films were nominated for this category," Steve Martin said, gesturing towards the big screen as clips from the nominated films' scores began to play.

"Nominated for Best Original Score are 'Kiss the Girl' from The Little Mermaid, 'I See Your Smile' from Parenthood, 'I Was Once That Girl' from Second Spring, and 'Silent Love' from Running Out of Time."

After introducing the nominees, Steve Martin opened the envelope and looked inside, his expression slightly surprised. He then looked out at the audience, his gaze briefly locking onto Eric before quickly looking away. "And the winner for best original score is: 'Silent Love' from Running Out of Time," he announced.

Wow - before the music for Silent Love had even begun to play, the entire hall erupted into a unified gasp of surprise, and countless eyes turned towards Eric.

Eric felt a sense of disbelief as he stood up. He quickly hugged those around him, smiling as he made his way to the stage.

After accepting the small golden statue from the award presenter, Eric approached the microphone. He quickly organized his thoughts and scanned the crowd before smiling and saying, "This is truly unexpected; I never thought that my first Oscar award would be for Best Original Score, but this little golden statue is heavier than I imagined."

There was a light laughter from the crowd.

Once the laughter had subsided, Eric continued, "Over a year ago, I was just a young adult who had recently lost my father and dropped out of school to work at an Italian restaurant. But one day, I realized that I couldn't continue living like this, I had to do something, and that desire was incredibly strong. So, I began trying to write my first novel and script. Luckily, with the help of some people, I was able to succeed and make it to where I am today. I've always loved music, and after receiving the paycheck for my role in the movie 17 Again, I was able to buy my first piano. In my free time, I would often play with some melodies and clumsily write them down on sheet music. The theme song for the movie "Silent Love" is the product of this inspiration. I am not a professional musician, so receiving this award is very unexpected. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me along the way, including Mr. Michael Kross who helped me publish my first book, James Brook and Penelope Marshall who gave me the opportunity to enter Hollywood, and Geoffrey Hanson who helped me complete my first movie and then supported me silently in the following year. And lastly, I want to thank all the beautiful women in my movie. Oh, well, don't laugh, I'm serious. Thank you all. Thank you everyone."

Despite the fact that he had not prepared a draft, Eric finished his acceptance speech quickly and then walked backstage with the two award presenters.

When Eric returned to his seat, the award for best makeup, which came immediately after the best soundtrack, had already been awarded, and the guests were introducing the nominees for the best foreign language film.

As two people that Eric wasn't too familiar with announced the winner for best foreign language film, "Camille Claudel," Eric looked at the screen and saw the somewhat nervous woman, and his expression moved slightly.

"What's wrong? Another inspiration?" Virginia asked with a hint of teasing in her tone.

"Nothing," Eric shook his head, "just suddenly thinking of a few people."

"Why not just say it? You're thinking about women," Virginia teasingly added.

Eric nodded, he had indeed thought about women. On the big screen, Isabelle Adjani was appearing, along with two other women, Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci.

Eric had always had a feeling that these three women had a lot in common, even though Isabelle Adjani's acting was the best, Sophie Marceau's was second, and Monica Bellucci was just a decorative vase. However, in terms of appearance, the three of them had many similarities. Eric had read in a previous life that someone had commented that Isabelle Adjani looked like a combination of Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci.

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