weddingnovel Chapter 68 Who dares to provoke the Supreme Lord?
Chapter 68 Who dares to provoke the Supreme Lord?
Five minutes later, at the headquarters of 20th Century Fox in Los Angeles.
In Elizabeth's office, a copy of the New York Post, transmitted in real time via fax, lay quietly on her pure black mahogany desk.
"Snapped!"
The cup on the table was smashed against the corner of the wall and shattered.
Elizabeth's usually elegant and aloof face was now completely distorted.
She leaned on the desk, her chest heaving. Before her, the senior vice president and several public relations directors stood with their heads bowed, barely daring to breathe.
"Can anyone tell me what's going on? Has the editor-in-chief of the New York Post developed a brain tumor, or has he sold his soul to Warner Bros. and Disney?! Huh?!"
"President, we are verifying..." the PR director replied nervously, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
"This report was published half an hour ago. The author is an independent freelance writer named Sam, who usually sells gossip about Hollywood production crews in New York."
This morning, someone wired $50,000 to his anonymous account, along with a candid photo taken on Fifth Avenue.
"Five thousand US dollars can get News Corporation's newspapers to rape a core project that News Corporation has invested thirty-five million US dollars in?!"
Elizabeth slammed her hand on the table, the loud noise startling everyone present.
Factional struggles exist within Hollywood, which is normal. It's also normal that some high-ranking executives at Fox don't support Lin Ruiyang, a Chinese director.
However, internal strife must not harm the group's core interests!
"The Devil Wears Prada" is Fox's core trump card for its push into the fashion world next year, aiming to compete with Warner Bros. and Sony's summer blockbusters. It is also a project exclusively sponsored by PPR Group with all its resources.
On the second day of filming, this shocking scandal of "incompetent director, out-of-control crew, and angering local and federal governments" broke out. Not only will the expected commercial value of the film collapse, but Fox's credibility in national transportation and local coordination will also be completely ruined.
Not to mention, the Chubb Insurance malicious underwriting incident that just happened this afternoon, Kara's report has already been sent to Elizabeth's computer.
The two events, one after the other, complemented each other perfectly.
First, they used the insurance company to seal off the costumes, forcing the production crew to stop work. Then, they used media and public opinion to create the illusion that the director's incompetence had caused the project to stall.
This is an attempt to destroy Lin Ruiyang and drag this project down completely.
"This is a declaration of war against me!" Elizabeth slowly sat back in her chair, the anger in her eyes gradually turning into a chilling calm.
Hollywood's powerful women have never climbed to their positions through gentleness, kindness, humility, and modesty.
"Investigate! Use all the group's inside contacts in New York to put pressure on the top management of the New York Post."
I need to know within half an hour where this $50,000 came from, and who that damned insurance underwriter Thomas Wayne drank with last night!
Elizabeth coldly issued the order: "Also, notify the public relations committee at News Corp.'s New York headquarters. Someone is crossing Mr. Rupert Murdoch's line. Let them handle it."
The parent company's massive machinery was fully activated in that instant.
On the fourteenth floor of the McGraw-Hill building, the film crew's work did not stop because of this newspaper.
Under Lin Ruiyang's direction, Anne Hathaway and Stanley Tucci have already begun rehearsing their lines for the next scene.
"Lin, are you really not worried at all?"
Meryl Streep sat on a bench, holding a cup of black tea, her eyes lingering on the young director with interest.
"Why should I worry, Ms. Streep?" Lin Ruiyang replied without turning his head, flipping through the storyboard he was about to shoot.
"On set, what determines a director's fate is always the footage on the monitor, not the ink in gossip magazines. Since Fox paid the money, they'll be even more eager than I am to smash this pot."
Meryl's admiration grew stronger. The young man before her possessed a composure beyond his years, a confidence that allowed him to manipulate the film industry and the logic of capital with ease.
Forty minutes later.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed again in the film crew's corridor.
This time, Kara Hack entered by pushing the door open, followed by two men in black suits.
"Director Lin, please organize the main creative team. The joint investigation results from 20th Century Fox headquarters and News Corporation are in."
Kara's voice carried an irrepressible sense of exhilaration.
Lin Ruiyang put down his storyboard, pulled up a chair, and said, "Sit down and let's talk. Who dares to mess with us?"
Kara gave a cold laugh, threw a newly printed top-secret internal report on the table, and tapped her finger heavily on a photograph on it.
The photo shows Lindsay Lohan, a young woman who was incredibly famous in 2005, but also incredibly outrageous.
"It's her?" Mike exclaimed in surprise. "That 'Mean Girls' from Disney?"
"It's her, or more precisely, her core public relations team, and a senior vice president of LVMH Group's New York branch who stands behind her."
Kara Hack's eyes were filled with ruthlessness as she spoke.
"During the film's pre-production phase, Lindsay Lohan, through her agent, repeatedly hinted to Elizabeth that she wanted to play the role of Emily before her audition."
She even demanded an absurdly high price: seven million US dollars plus a share of the global box office revenue.
Upon hearing this, Lin Ruiyang let out a cold smile.
In 2005, Lindsay Lohan was at the peak of her Hollywood popularity with "Freaky Friday" and "Mean Girls". However, at the same time, her bad behavior of drinking, drug use, being late or leaving early on set without reason, and even racing wildly with paparazzi had already quietly spread in the industry.
"Lindsay was furious about being rejected and about her previous failed smear campaign. Her publicist said that a rookie Chinese director who couldn't even speak English properly rejecting Hollywood's hottest star was a laughing stock in America."
Carla spat dismissively: "When they learned that PPR Group had become our exclusive sponsor, LVMH Group also felt they had lost face, so the two sides hit it off immediately."
Last night, Lindsay's publicist met with Thomas Wayne of Chubb Insurance at a private club in Manhattan.
The $50,000 in shady dealings was transferred to the freelance writer through a shell foundation under Lindsay's name.
The truth is now out.
This is a sordid trap concocted by the jealousy of Hollywood's fading (or soon-to-be-fading) top stars, coupled with the business rivalry between two major luxury goods groups.
They originally thought that a newcomer director would be instantly terrified and flustered when faced with a joint attack from an insurance company and top media, thus paralyzing the entire crew.
Unfortunately, they didn't kick an ordinary steel plate.
"Very good." Lin Ruiyang stood up and straightened his clothes. There was no anger on his face, only a coldness as if he were looking at a dead man.
"Now that they've set the stage, how do Fox and News Corp. plan to take their final bow?"
Kara straightened up, a smile that represented the purest arrogance and cruelty of the behemoth that was 20th Century Fox and News Corporation appearing on her face.
"Lin, you may not know Mr. Rupert Murdoch's temperament well enough. In New York, no one can go to a dinner party unscathed after attacking Fox with News Corporation's newspapers."
At 5 p.m. that day, the dismissal decision, personally signed by the editor-in-chief of the New York Post, was delivered to the entertainment section's office.
Sam, the independent writer who received $50,000, was arrested on the street by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) on suspicion of "commercial fraud and illegal acceptance of commercial bribes" as he tried to leave his apartment.
This is merely the first step in News Corporation, the media behemoth, baring its fangs.
Half an hour later, News Corp.’s major media outlets—the online edition of the New York Post, Fox News, and MySpace, the social media pioneer that was just acquired by News Corp. for hundreds of millions of dollars and was the most popular social media platform in 2005—simultaneously launched an unexpected media storm.
The New York Post posted an apology on its front page and devoted three times the space to an official letter from the Manhattan Department of Transportation commending the "Devil Wears Prada" crew for their efficient filming and early road clearing.
Below the official letter is a sharply worded investigative article by a journalist:
Who is using lies to hijack Manhattan? Exposing the shameless scandal of a young Hollywood actress surnamed L and her team manipulating the media.
The article did not name names directly, but the accompanying picture was extremely accurate, showing Lindsay drunkenly handing a wad of cash to the middleman at the club that night.
Although the photo was blurred, the signature red hair and the haute couture bracelet on her wrist were exactly the same as the one Lindsay posted on MySpace.
"boom!"
The entire Hollywood and the entire American entertainment industry were ignited in that instant.
Fox News launched a special segment in its hourly news half an hour later, inviting veteran producers and legal experts to discuss the legal consequences of "the collapse of professional ethics among young Hollywood actors and malicious interference with industry competition."
"A kid who grew up in the Disney bubble, unable to tolerate being rejected by a director for his lack of talent, actually used illegal funds to try to paralyze an A-list film project that affected the livelihoods of thousands of union employees."
This is a betrayal of the entire film industry!
Fox News's guest commentator was vehemently critical and spittle-flecked on television.