By mid-February, just before the 82nd Academy Awards nominees luncheon, the North American box office for *The Wolf of Wall Street* was still slowly growing, reaching a total of $235.6 million. Despite trailing far behind the aggressive juggernaut *Avatar*, this was a resounding success for a film with a production cost of only $80 million.
The Oscars nominees luncheon was held at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel. Unlike previous years, Murphy didn't delegate the task to the busy Bill Rossis but attended the luncheon in person.
Since Robert Downey Jr. and Jonah Hill were still busy with worldwide promotions, Murphy represented the entire *The Wolf of Wall Street* crew, walking alone into the Hilton Hotel's Banquet Hall One.
"This way, Mr. Stanton," a waiter guided Murphy to one of the more prominent tables in the hall. Before he approached, Murphy took note of the people seated there—top figures in Hollywood, such as *Avatar*'s Jon Landau, Walt Disney's animation director John Lasseter, and Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio.
There was a time, due to Robert Downey Jr., when Murphy was quite close to Leonardo DiCaprio, but now...
Murphy shook his head slightly. DiCaprio was not only an actor but also a very successful businessman. When substantial interests were at stake, their fragile friendship quickly collapsed.
Murphy was well aware that this was the norm in Hollywood or any commercial circle; not everyone you meet becomes a lifelong friend like James Franco, Robert Downey Jr., Seth Rogen, or Jonah Hill.
"Hey, Jon," Murphy greeted the portly producer from 20th Century Fox first. Jon Landau, seeing Murphy approaching, stood up to hug him, "Wow, Murphy! Great to see you."
Then, through Jon Landau's introduction, Murphy shook hands with John Lasseter. Though they had never met before, they were well aware of each other's reputations.
Especially Murphy, who had a great fondness for Pixar's non-juvenile animations, took the opportunity to chat a bit more with John Lasseter, one of Pixar's Five Giants.
From John Lasseter, Murphy learned that he was there for *Up*, a Pixar classic that had a strong chance of becoming the first animated feature to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
If it did receive a nomination, it would be a great honor for Pixar, both as the highest praise for their relentless creativity and as an effect of the expanded Best Picture nominee list.
Starting with the 82nd Academy Awards, the Best Picture category was no longer limited to five films but could include up to nine. This meant that if an exceptional number of high-quality films were produced in a given year, the nominees list could expand to nine. If not enough exceptional films were produced, the list could be shorter but not fewer than five.
This was one of the biggest reforms the Academy had made to the Oscars in recent years, allowing outstanding sci-fi and animated films to enter the nominee list and serve as worthy contenders.
Thus, both Bill Rossis and Robert Downey Jr. believed that *The Wolf of Wall Street* had a much easier chance of getting a Best Picture nomination compared to Murphy securing a Best Director nomination, which still had only five spots.
As Murphy and John Lasseter chatted and laughed, Leonardo DiCaprio felt somewhat uncomfortable. However, as an industry veteran, he did nothing, simply sitting there calmly.
He could tell that Murphy's attitude towards him had changed significantly. In the past, Murphy would have greeted him first.
Leonardo DiCaprio understood why, but he felt no guilt. He had already expressed goodwill through his agent; whether Murphy accepted it was out of his control.
After all, if their positions were reversed, Murphy's utilitarian nature might not lead to a better outcome than his own.
"Hello, Leo," a familiar greeting snapped Leonardo DiCaprio out of his thoughts. He shook his head slightly and returned to reality, seeing Murphy now seated next to him, forcing a smile, "Hello, Murphy."
With that, he fell silent again.
Murphy nodded at Leonardo DiCaprio, saying nothing more.
Though they were not the best of friends, they understood each other well enough. There was no need to pretend to be enthusiastic.
Murphy knew exactly who was behind Jordan Belfort's attempt to reclaim the adaptation rights to *The Wolf of Wall Street*.
Similarly, Leonardo DiCaprio knew that Murphy was far from being a good person. He suspected that Murphy might be behind some of the obstacles he faced in his own Oscar campaign.
Murphy glanced at Leonardo DiCaprio one last time before turning his attention back to Jon Landau, discussing *Avatar*. The film's global box office was nearing $2 billion, and everyone could see that barring some catastrophic event like World War III or an alien invasion, James Cameron would undoubtedly surpass himself, cementing his legacy as a filmmaking legend.
Murphy had once considered directing the film but quickly dismissed the idea, realizing its impracticality.
Ignoring whether *Avatar* was an idea James Cameron had harbored for over a decade, the technology alone posed insurmountable challenges for Murphy.
Anyone with common sense would know that *Avatar* was not the kind of film that could be resolved with just a script and a director. Even if the script was ready, it wouldn't be enough.
Since the early 2000s, James Cameron had been collaborating with Sony Electronics on the latest 3D imaging and motion capture technologies, conducting numerous experiments and filming several documentaries to explore the feasibility of these technologies. Moreover, the patents for these cutting-edge technologies essential for *Avatar*'s production were firmly in Cameron's hands. Without his authorization, filming was out of the question.
Sure, using other technologies might be possible and could achieve *Avatar*'s final effect, but Cameron, a technology fanatic, spent nearly a decade developing these new technologies. How many other directors could devote the same time and effort?
Moreover, how many directors had the patience to develop other technologies to the point where they could produce a film like *Avatar*?
As Murphy shook his head, he was relieved that he wasn't foolish enough to pursue it. To put it bluntly, even calling that idea foolish would be an understatement.
In filmmaking, effort doesn't always guarantee success, but without effort, success is impossible. As much as Murphy criticized *Avatar*'s protagonist, the film faced plenty of criticism. Yet, its massive box office success was the best reward for James Cameron's relentless pursuit of new technologies.
If Murphy were to evaluate it, he would say, "Film history can be divided into before sound and after sound, before color and after color, and before *Avatar* and after *Avatar*."
Suddenly, Murphy felt someone staring at him. Without looking, he knew it must be Leonardo DiCaprio.
Given DiCaprio's extensive network, it wouldn't be hard to learn that many Academy members were displeased with his blatant Oscar-chasing and might make voting decisions unfavorable to him.
Despite losing *The Wolf of Wall Street*, DiCaprio's Oscar campaign remained largely unaffected. Murphy knew that DiCaprio had pushed for an early release of his new film with Martin Scorsese, *Shutter Island*, initially slated for February, by holding a special screening in Los Angeles last December to qualify for this year's Oscars.
Honestly, acting is highly subjective, and everyone has different standards of judgment. However, DiCaprio's acting has always been controversial, especially his exaggerated facial expressions and tendency to overact, which many Academy voters dislike.
But DiCaprio had fame, resources, capability, and a broad network, making it easy for him to secure Best Actor nominations by carefully selecting Oscar-bait roles.
The nominees' luncheon soon began. Like Murphy, attendees were more interested in hearing Academy President Sid Ganis and guest announcer Anne Hathaway reveal the nominee lists than in the food.
The announcements came swiftly. As Anne Hathaway read out the names, DiCaprio's expression darkened slightly. Despite his substantial investment, *Shutter Island* received no technical nominations, while *The Wolf of Wall Street* garnered nominations for Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Finally, the nominations for the four most prestigious categories were revealed by Anne Hathaway.
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