Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 730 - 530: Three Women

"Jennifer, is there any insider reason why the jury awarded both the Best Actress and Best Actor awards to 'Rust and Bone'? I remember there's no precedent for this in the history of the Cannes Film Festival."

After the award ceremony, Link and Jennifer Lawrence sat in the car back to the hotel and asked.

Jennifer Lawrence, dressed in a red strapless gown, tall yet voluptuous, smiled across him and said, "There's no insider deal, it's all the result of the jury's voting. When voting for the Best Actress, Marion Cotillard, being a French native actress, received the highest number of votes which raised no issues.

When it came to the Best Actor category, you also received the most votes, at that time director Ang Lee raised the issue suggesting it might be better to select a male lead from another movie to give other movies some exposure.

I said then that your performance in 'Rust and Bone' was obviously better than the other actors and if Marion Cotillard winning meant you couldn't, that would be unfair to you. Nicole Kidman supported my point."

Director Ang Lee handed the decision over to the jury chairman Spielberg. After pondering, Director Spielberg suggested another round of voting, advising to consider the other four candidates more.

But the result of the second round of voting was that your votes were still higher than the other four actors.

After discussing with the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival, Director Spielberg decided to accept the results of the voting, and the jury then set a precedent by awarding the Best Actor and Actress awards to actors from the same film.

Jennifer Lawrence shrugged and smiled.

Link stroked his chin, "Although I haven't seen the four competitors' films, I've read reviews in the newspapers. The French media said they were great, especially veteran actors Bruce Dunn and Mathieu Amalric. The media predicted that this year's Film Emperor at Cannes would emerge from these two. Why would my votes still be higher?"

Jennifer Lawrence laughed and said, "In terms of performance, what you did in the film was definitely not worse than theirs. They are just older, which doesn't mean they performed better than you, so it's no surprise that you won in the first round of voting.

But before the second round of voting, Director Spielberg had already said to consider the other nominees more, yet you still won, which I am also a bit puzzled about? I guess maybe your charm is just too great."

Jennifer Lawrence looked at him with an admiring gaze.

Link smiled lightly, took her arm, and embraced her, kissing her, "So the award I got was entirely based on merit?"

"Of course, you are so amazing, it's only right you won an award. By the way, Nicole Kidman, Christoph Waltz, Naomi Kawase, Aisha Akido, and Zhang Ziyi came to me before voting to say you were fantastic. I guess they probably wanted to use this as a way to get on good terms with you."

Jennifer Lawrence said, sitting on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Is that so?"

If that's the reason, my winning is not entirely based on talent but also on my influence and status.

Unlike the Academy Awards, where there are six to seven thousand members of the Oscar jury each year, there are only about a dozen at the Cannes Film Festival.

Link wondered if those jury members who voted for him, apart from those who wanted to be in his good graces, were perhaps others who, fearing trouble from him, felt compelled to vote for him?

Upon reflection, that didn't seem right.

Those who are invited by the host to be jurors at the Cannes Film Festival are distinguished filmmakers from around the world, each holding a high position and achievements in the film industry, such as Spielberg, Director Ang Lee, Nicole Kidman, and others from Asia and Europe.

They don't work with him and don't have to worry about offending him over this matter; they could vote unbiased for their favored actor.

So why were the votes in the second round still so high for me?

Was this award based purely on talent, or did the jury members consider my position and status, reluctantly voting that way, or was it due to other factors?

Link pondered this question, gently caressing the girl's thigh, slowly moving upward from the hem of the skirt, hoping that the touch of his fingers might spark some inspiration in his brain, perhaps suddenly finding the answer.

Jennifer let out a soft moan, wrapping her arms around his neck, her lush red lips approaching his.

Link looked into her intoxicating eyes and gently kissed her.

The business car left Festival Palace, drove along the beach road of Cannes towards the eastern residential hotel area. Because the seaside scenery was so beautiful at night, what was normally a five- to six-minute journey took almost half an hour.

After reaching Croisette, the car first stopped in front of the Five Seas Hotel. Jennifer Lawrence, blushing, got out carrying her small round bag, waved to the car, and then walked into the hotel.

Link continued in the car for another hundred meters, coming to another five-star hotel, JW Marriott Cannes.

He did this also to avoid suspicion, as right after the award ceremony, the news of his winning the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival had spread across the internet worldwide, sparking a heated debate, most of which were voices of doubt.

Many media outlets questioned whether during his attendance at the Cannes Film Festival he had employed public relations tactics similar to those used at the Academy Awards, and that was why he had won this award.