Nicholas was twenty-six years old this year and had been working as a journalist for two years. At the beginning, he worked for the San Francisco Examiner, one of the biggest newspapers in San Francisco, which also happened to be the biggest competitor of the San Francisco Chronicle. However, on a national level, the San Francisco Chronicle was not only a newspaper that could be compared with the Los Angeles Times, but its sales also ranked among the top fifteen media outlets in the country. In contrast, the San Francisco Examiner had a far more limited influence.
Even so, Nicholas's keen news instincts allowed him to stand out in the journalism industry and earn the appreciation of the editor-in-chief at the Los Angeles Times. He began working for the West Coast's best-selling newspaper in the second half of last year, and it was from that time on that he started covering news related to Hugo.
Nicholas didn't actually have any malicious intent toward Hugo; he was simply doing his reporting. Looking at Hugo's journey in the entertainment industry, he had steadily worked his way to the first major milestone—Dead Poets Society—but before reaching his peak, he added three consecutive flops to his resume. That would be bad news for any actor. So Nicholas's remarks were merely one part of the general media perspective, nothing particularly unique.
However, ever since the 12th Golden Raspberry Awards, Nicholas began to find Hugo rather interesting. "Hugo, not long ago at the Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony, you actually cried to the point you couldn't speak. I want to know—were you really thanking the committee for their 'recognition,' or was this just an act, a carefully staged performance?"
Nicholas's first question was quite sharp, and it also happened to be the one he was most curious about. Although there had been plenty of coverage about the Golden Raspberry Awards recently, with wild speculation among reporters, Hugo had never publicly addressed the matter. Now that Nicholas finally had the chance, he wasn't going to let it slip away.
Faced with this question during his first formal interview, Hugo was momentarily stunned, not knowing how to respond. After all, at the time, he had been in complete chaos and ended up causing a huge misunderstanding. He couldn't tell the truth, so he could only figure out a way to answer. "You mean you all can't tell whether I was being genuine or fake? If it was a performance, then I gave my best acting ever while receiving the award for Worst Actor. That's pretty funny, isn't it?"
Hugo's reply made Nicholas pause—he truly hadn't considered it from that perspective before. The answer also went beyond his expectations, making him look at Hugo with a more inquisitive gaze.
"But unfortunately, that was all my genuine emotion, not my acting," Hugo shrugged regretfully. "All along, people have tiptoed around the Golden Raspberry Awards because no one wants to accept an award for 'worst performance.' But in my view, it's just another way to entertain the public, so why avoid it? To put it bluntly, if you've already made such a bad film, what's there left to be embarrassed about? Only by honestly confronting your failures can you do better in the future, don't you think?"
Hugo's honesty made Nicholas's eyes light up. In fact, this line of thinking was also common among the general public. First, the Golden Raspberry Awards were purely entertainment; if you took them seriously, you'd already lost. People only see it as shameful because you treat it that way. On the contrary, if you can laugh at yourself, others will laugh along with you and let it go.
Second, regarding the award itself, if an actor starred in a terrible movie that was already ripped apart by audiences and critics alike, what was the point of keeping a fig leaf to cover it up? It only made things more awkward.
But that was just how audiences thought. For actors, they cherished their reputation deeply. Even if a film had been obliterated by Rotten Tomatoes, they still wouldn't willingly stand before the public to face criticism. Image and reputation meant everything to them maybe after time passed and years went by they could look back, but definitely not in the moment. Making a bad film was one thing; standing on stage to accept public ridicule, mockery, and teasing was another entirely.
That's why no one ever wanted to attend the Golden Raspberry Awards.
"And what about the tears?" Nicholas was intrigued by Hugo's answer. This was the first time he had seen an actor who could face his failures so openly. Even though Hugo's embarrassing moment at the Razzies had become a public joke, he didn't shy away from it. Instead, he chose to laugh it off in a cheerful and optimistic way, which easily earned Nicholas's favor.
"You could take them as gratitude, or regret—but I personally prefer to see them as motivation. Either way, you all enjoyed watching it, didn't you? I think I made a bit of a contribution to the Golden Raspberry Awards." Since there was no way to avoid it, Hugo chose to face it head-on. After all, everything that happened at the Razzies was real even if he wanted to deny it, there would be no way to explain it away.
Nicholas nodded to himself in approval, satisfied with Hugo's answer. But he wasn't about to let Hugo off the hook just yet. "So can I take that to mean that you were very unhappy with Hudson Hawk?"
That question made Hugo chuckle. "I don't think Martin would be too happy with that question of yours."
With that deft deflection, Nicholas was left unable to make a meaningful attack. Since today wasn't a special exclusive interview, just a routine one, he had to reserve most of his time for an upcoming interview with Al. With that in mind, Nicholas had no choice but to shift the topic to Scent of a Woman. "Hugo, let's talk about this movie."
The interview about Scent of a Woman was far more conventional. Because it was part of a routine press session, the questions were more rigid, and Hugo's answers were by-the-book. It lacked the spark and back-and-forth of the earlier exchange. Though Nicholas remained serious as he jotted down the key points of Hugo's responses, he couldn't stop thinking about Hugo's earlier wit. This Hugo was truly interesting—far more so than most actors.
So, when the crew reminded Nicholas that it was time to go interview Al, he still couldn't help but ask one more question. "Hugo, has anyone ever called you a diva?" He was genuinely curious about Hugo's answer.
In fact, that kind of talk had been going around since Desparate Hours. After Hugo received considerable attention for Dead Poets Society, he landed leading roles in his next three films—all with substantial budgets. Rumors had been circulating in the industry that Hugo was throwing his weight around, refusing to accept supporting roles, and stubbornly holding firm at a $3 million price tag for his salary.
"Yes." Hugo's blunt answer delighted Nicholas. But what followed left him both amused and exasperated. "You just said it a moment ago. Or wait are you saying you're the first to say that?"
Nicholas felt an urge to roll his eyes. "Hugo… I meant, aside from me, has anyone said that? Are there industry rumors or accusations from crews?"
"Oh, come on, Nicholas, you're in the field of journalism shouldn't you be better informed than me? You're actually asking me this? Isn't that a little backward?" Hugo said with a relaxed smile, leaving Nicholas unsure how to respond.
Originally, Nicholas was just trying to probe a little. After all, Hugo's role in Scent of a Woman was a supporting one, and Universal had publicly announced that he was only being paid $500,000. That had quelled many media doubts about the casting choice. So Nicholas couldn't push the "diva" narrative further—he could only test the waters.
But unexpectedly, Hugo's verbal tai chi bounced the ball right back, leaving Nicholas at a loss. In the end, all he could do was smile and say, "Right, right, exactly. If I hear anything on that front in the future, I'll be sure to let you know."
"Trust me if there's anything like that, I'll know before you do." Hugo delivered another perfect line. At first, Nicholas didn't quite catch it. He was about to say, "Didn't you just say I'm the better-informed one? Why would you know before me?" But then it hit him:
Hugo was saying that if he did act like a diva, he'd be the first to know because he's self-aware. At the same time, Hugo was subtly denying Nicholas' question: up to now, Hugo hadn't thrown any diva fits.
That one simple sentence conveyed so much meaning. Nicholas gave Hugo a long, deep look. This handsome young man before him was clearly far more interesting than the awful actor Nicholas had once described in his columns.
Still, Nicholas didn't say anything else. He simply raised the notebook in his right hand to signal the end of the interview and walked away to meet Al Pacino. The two didn't hug or shake hands—just a quick in-and-out encounter. The entire interview had lasted under ten minutes.
Watching Nicholas walk away, Hugo let out a long sigh of relief. He had expected the interview to be tough—especially since it was with his old nemesis Nicholas. But as it turned out, it was much easier than he'd imagined. Even though Nicholas had asked some sharp and pointed questions, Hugo had handled them just fine. That immediately boosted his confidence.
"Everything went okay?" Joseph walked over as soon as Nicholas reached Al's side and asked, "Was there anything I should watch out for?" Joseph needed to cross-check the content of the interview. If anything was problematic, he'd have to contact the Los Angeles Times to clarify things in advance and avoid any missteps.
"No, it was good. The conversation was very pleasant." After saying that, Hugo thought it over and nodded. "Yeah, much better than I imagined. At least I didn't punch him—that's already a win." His joke made the corner of Joseph's mouth twitch again.
.....
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