....
As Regal had been deep into filming [IWTEYP], the production was now sitting in an unexpected pause following the accident on set.
A week had passed since then.
The initial reports had sounded worse than the reality that eventually settled in: Tom had suffered a minor fracture in his left leg, painful but manageable, and the doctors had already confird that he was recovering well.
Because of that, Regal wasn’t rushing anything.
The production schedule remained frozen for the mont, giving the crew ti to regroup while Tom focused on healing instead of pushing himself back onto the stage too quickly.
anwhile, the rest of Hollywood had continued moving at its usual pace, and the industry conversation had already shifted toward the upcoming wave of award announcents beginning to surface across the trade headlines.
It had already been over a month since the nominations were announced, and obviously many eyes were on the films Regal directed or wrote.
The mont nominations began to appear across guild awards and critics circles, the industry quickly realized sothing unusual was unfolding again.
The Golden Globe nominations had been announced a month and a half earlier, and Regal’s films had dominated the slate, collecting sixteen nominations spread across multiple categories.
At that point he wasn’t rely part of the awards conversation.
He was everywhere inside it.
For anyone who had followed the previous year closely, the outco wasn’t entirely unexpected. It had been only a year since the last awards cycle, the one in which [Spider-Man: Web of Destiny] and [Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets] had pushed Regal’s na firmly onto the industry’s radar and into discussions that, until then, had belonged to far more established directors.
Six Golden Globe nominations between the two films.
[Spider-Man] had given him his first Globe win for Best Director, and Alfred Molina had taken ho Supporting Actor.
Over at the Oscars, eight nominations total - [Chamber of Secrets] winning Best Adapted Screenplay and Costu Design, [Spider-Man] taking Visual Effects.
It had been a strong showing for a 27-year-old director in only his second full awards season.
But this year was different.
There are total of three films that are eligible for award nominations that Regal had worked on:
[Superman: Man of Tomorrow], directed by Regal himself.
[Iron Man: 1], also directed by Regal.
And [Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban], which he had written but left the direction to Chris Columbus.
Three films. All eligible. All, apparently, nominated.
....
Golden Globes Nominations:
For [Superman: Man of Tomorrow] (8 nominations):
| Best Motion Picture – Drama
| Best Director – Regal Seraphsail
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama – Henry Cavill
| Best Supporting Actor – Stephen Hawking Sr.
| Best Screenplay – Regal Seraphsail
| Best Original Score – Ludwig Göransson
| Best Cinematography – Leo Martinez
For [Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban] (4 nominations):
| Best Motion Picture – Drama
| Best Director – Chris Columbus
| Best Screenplay – Regal Seraphsail
| Best Original Score – Ludwig Göransson
For [Iron Man] (5 nominations):
| Best Motion Picture – Drama
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Robert Downey Jr.
| Best Screenplay – Regal Seraphsail
| Best Visual Effects
| Best Sound
....
Following the fifteen days of [Golden Globes] nominations, [Academy Award Nominations] were announced.
And again, across the three films, Regal had twenty-one nominations.
....
For [Superman: Man of Tomorrow] (12 nominations):
| Best Picture (WON)
| Best Director – Regal Seraphsail (WON)
| Best Actor – Henry Cavill
| Best Supporting Actor – Stephen Hawking Sr. (WON)
| Best Original Screenplay – Regal Seraphsail (WON)
| Best Cinematography – Leo Martinez (WON)
| Best Original Score – Ludwig Göransson (WON)
| Best Sound Mixing (WON)
| Best Sound Editing (WON)
| Best Film Editing – Zack Brag (WON)
| Best Visual Effects (WON)
| Best Production Design
For [Iron Man] (6 nominations):
| Best Picture
| Best Actor – Robert Downey Jr.
| Best Screenplay – Regal Seraphsail
| Best Sound Editing
| Best Visual Effects (WON - shared with Superman)
| Best Film Editing
For [Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban] (3 nominations):
| Best Adapted Screenplay – Regal Seraphsail
| Best Production Design
| Best Costu Design (WON)
....
Regal beca the first person in Academy Award history to receive screenplay nominations for THREE different films in the sa year:
| Best Original Screenplay for [Superman: Man of Tomorrow]
| Best Original Screenplay for [Iron Man: 1]
| Best Adapted Screenplay for [Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]
This unprecedented achievent - combined with his previous achievents as director and writer - cented his status as one of the most prolific and successful filmmakers of his generation at age 28.
Obviously not all of them from Hollywood simply appreciated the young man’s achievents.
There were clearly few who couldn’t digest them
Three screenplay nominations across three different films at the sa ceremony.
When a few sections of people picked up on it, the reaction was sowhere between astonishnt and disbelief.
"Is Regal Seraphsail Writing Too Fast for Hollywood to Keep Up?"
The topic beca so intense, even the official press handles had no choice but to write their own articles.
However, the Variety and The Hollywood Reporter were more asured in their approach.
....
Despite being busy with [IWTEYP], and not to ntion the unfortunate accident with Tom, Regal couldn’t ignore the major two award shows innovations.
Also, it wouldn’t be a lie to say he wasn’t excited for the awards itself - he is rightfully pumped up to see how many he could win.
First ca the Golden Globes, which was held at the usual The Beverly Hilton Hotel, in California.
Regal actually preferred the Golden Globes relaxed table setting compared to the Academy Awards, which goes formal and monuntal with everything.
Of course he wouldn’t say that out loud.
His finance Gwendolyn had already.... educated him.
....
Just like Regal had preferred it to be, Golden Gobles was finished without much of a wait.
Out of 8 nominations For [Superman: Man of Tomorrow], the film had managed to win three of them:
| Best Director – Regal Seraphsail (WON)
| Best Supporting Actor – Stephen Hawking Sr. (WON)
| Best Original Score – Ludwig Göransson (WON)
Unfortunately, [Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban] couldn’t win any–
–while, [Iron Man: 1] had won the [Best Sound] - which was very deserved for their unique usage of sound as background score in the film.
Regal was even though slightly disappointed that [Harry Potter] couldn’t win any, he was mostly happy with the results.
Next was the Academy Awards which was fifteen days away.
....
[Awards Night | February 22, 2015]
The 87th Academy Awards began at 8 PM.
And from the entrance itself the energy and anticipation around Regal and his team is clear as day.
It was inevitable.
Red Studio and even LIE Studio owned by him had to take every advantage they had in their possession.
And the three-screenplay-nomination story had been pushed by them, being built for weeks in the trades, the entertainnt press, the late night monologues, and now it was fully alive in the physical world–
Every reporter with a microphone wanted to talk about it, every cara wanted the shot of Regal walking the carpet with Gwendolyn on his arm.
That was how big his impact was.
....
Neil Patrick Harris walked onstage.
For a second, he didn’t talk, he straightened his jacket, surveyed the room, and let the silence stretch just long enough to be funny.
"Welco to the 87th Academy Awards, or as we’re calling it tonight: ’The Regal Seraphsail Invitational.’ Seriously, this man has three screenplay nominations. THREE. Do you know how hard it is to get ONE screenplay nomination? I have been hosting award shows for years and I haven’t gotten a single one. Regal, you are 28 years old. Slow down. Leave so Oscars for the rest of us."
The cara stayed on Regal, who had now adopted the specific expression of a man who has decided the most dignified response is to appear completely.... Calm.
Neil’s tone shifted, just slightly - still warm, but genuine.
"But in all seriousness... What Regal has accomplished this year is extraordinary. Superman. Iron Man. Harry Potter. Three completely different films, three different tones, all nominated.
"...and that definitely and most certainly deserves a huge applause. SO stop being jealous in front of the cara and give him a big ’WOAHH’!!"
Then ca a round of genuine applause, mixed with a few embarrassed laughs.
"Okay." Neil said, returning to his usual register. "Let’s give out so awards before Regal wins all of them and we have to redesign the stage."
....
The early part of the ceremony moved through its usual schedule monts - the opening, the craft awards, short films, docuntary categories.
The room warming up, the nerves in the audience gradually tabolizing into sothing closer to excitent.
Then [Best Supporting Actor] was announced.
The presenter read the nominees.
Stephen Hawking Sr.’s na drew the biggest response from the audience at just the ntion of it.
The cheers were not polite gestures but genuine appreciation for the legend, the room responding to the story of a man who had co back in the late seventies and done the best work of his career.
When his na was read as the winner, the Dolby Theatre stood up.
All at once.
Stephen made his way to the stage slowly, and the ovation continued for almost two full minutes - the audience giving him the space to get there, nobody rushing the mont, everyone understanding that this was one of those rare instances where the award and the achievent were perfectly matched.
He reached the podium, set both hands on it, and waited for the room to settle.
"I am 78 years old." he began. "I retired a decade ago because I thought I had said everything I needed to say as an actor."
The room was completely quiet.
"Then I t this young 28-year-old director, who was just 23 at that ti. I will just describe the feeling in a sentence–"
He paused.
"I saw myself in him."
"And a year and half ago, when he approached with a script, I had no choice but to do it for the man I have seen in him."
Another pause. The room wasn’t breathing.
"This award belongs to every father who has made those choices. To every parent who has sacrificed for their children. To Regal, for writing sothing that mattered enough to bring back."
He looked up, just for a mont, sothing private in his expression. "And to my own father, who I wish could see this mont."
He picked up the Oscar.
"Thank you."
The standing ovation that followed him off the stage was, if anything, louder than the one that had greeted his arrival.
Regal was on his feet with everyone else, as the small mont of hug the duo shared after he walked out of the stage is one of most iconic in the history of the show.
....
.
[To be continued...]
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