Hollywood Domination Chapter 303: Overbearing president meeting

"Frank, Frank, dear Frank—"

Compared to Jenny and Cesare's ease and comfort, Tom Sarek, who is about to succeed as the chairman of the academy, is obviously much more troubled. With Yu Zhang's face, he continued to complain about Frank Pearson, who was already in the last few days of his tenure, so he seemed relaxed and calm, "Dear Frank, you really dote on that miracle girl..."

On Silver Street in Beverly Hills, the seven-story office building of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences——ampas, which is also the sponsor of the Oscars—is unusually bustling, with people coming and going and constant calls everywhere: because The work of the college is almost unpaid, so every year only around the awards season, all departments will start working at the same time. For most of the year, members of the college council will not come every day, only the administrative department and financial department of the college, And the "Angel Charity" department that uses the Academy's funds to support the film industry will only start working throughout the year. At this time of the year, the directors who have finished the hard work of the awards season will often reward themselves with a luxurious vacation instead of like Now like this, I am trapped with my colleagues, staring at each other and complaining to each other.

As a result, although the Oscar Awards Ceremony regained the good results of more than 50 million viewers, most of the committee members looked helpless and bored—because the joy brought by high ratings has long passed, and now it is time for When the ratings wipe their ass.

Not only Tom, but even the rest of the directors looked very helpless. On the contrary, Frank, who was about to resign, seemed to be a little angry. He replied briskly, "Oh, come on, Tom, you are also one of the council members who make decisions, this is a democratic country, this is a democratic organization, any decision is a collective decision of the council members—even if It's a black-box deal, and it's also a deal between all of us, don't you think it's a bit childish to point the finger at me at this time?"

Compared to his magnanimity, several council members seem a bit sneaky and wretched. Even though Frank didn't lie, several council members still exchanged glances with each other, as if feeling helpless for his waywardness— — To be able to serve as members of the Academy Council, all of them are Hollywood executives and big producers. How could they not be good at internal politics? For these old foxes and former domineering presidents, there are many things that don't need to be said directly, and a little inclination is enough for the other party to understand their true intentions.

——Take the current conversation as an example. There is a joke that goes like this. It is rumored that when the president of the United States takes office, he will get four envelopes, which can be opened when encountering difficulties. The first envelope There is such a sentence in the book: When encountering problems, scold the former president. Although this is a joke, it more or less explains the internal ecology of all institutions that have the mechanism of general elections. When the media has made such a big scapegoat and is waiting for the Oscars to be recited, the academy is not concerned internally or externally. To make an explanation, of course, no one will openly admit to the outside world that this is a problem with the Oscar election mechanism, but with such a big controversy this year, facing more than 7,000 members may cause dissatisfaction Ding Lang, the council also needs to give an explanation—and besides Frank Pearson, who else is the best candidate to take the blame?

If Frank is straightforward and loyal enough, he doesn't even need to be persecuted by the members of the board of directors—it doesn't take Tom himself to speak up, and he will take the blame. Of course, his reputation will suffer a certain loss because of it, but after all, Who made him the president of the academy? If he doesn't even have this responsibility, it's no wonder that the members of the council will be disappointed with him.

"It's not that we're going to point the finger at you now, Frank," after an embarrassing silence, seeing that Frank's expression was still so confident, with a helpless sigh, the first vice chairman, Cheryl Boone. Isaacs said softly, "Although we all know that this is a collective decision and we have not crossed the yellow line to interfere in the voting, but obviously, the media doesn't think so. This girl won five Oscars during your tenure. In the 4 years since you took office to leave office, she has won a record-breaking 5 awards, and there is also a double award that is very reminiscent—unprecedented in history, and she won the best film consecutively, which is also something that has not happened in decades ——"

"Oscar has been established, and every year we are facing things that haven't happened in decades!" Frank raised his voice, interrupting Cheryl's words almost impolitely, "This is a young industry. Cheryl, this is a miracle industry. Twenty years ago, no one could have imagined that special effects would one day be the key to the box office—even just five years ago, everyone thought that computer special effects were about to fade away. Tide, it is nothing more than an auxiliary story, the actors and the story are the core of the film - five years ago, who would have thought that the ratings of the awards ceremony would have the risk of falling below 30 million? If you are questioning whether the girl won Two Best Picture, then we have a clear conscience about it, Cheryl, everyone here knows it well, like you said, none of us interfered with the voting, did we call her? Yes , but that is nothing more than conforming to the nomination vote rate. According to the nomination rate, she won more than 60% of the votes for the best actress and more than 65% of the votes for the best picture. If there is no accident, she will get Two awards, and all we have to do is save the ratings of the awards show - just fight the Golden Globes, and the Screen Actors Guild, and the Directors Guild Awards. Ladies and gentlemen, we are not It’s not that there are no competitors, I’ll repeat it again—whether you can accept it or not, in Hollywood, nothing lasts forever, no company won’t go bankrupt, no award won’t go out of date, you think Oscar’s gold content will last forever Can you be proud of MTV?"

Frank took a deep breath and almost roared, "Look at the total box office of this year's award-nominated films-let me tell you, it's not certain!"

The meeting room suddenly fell silent. Several directors touched their noses uncomfortably and moved around on their chairs, looking for a comfortable posture. Frank's momentum almost overwhelmed everyone, even Tom Shaw Rick could only be hesitant to speak: his outburst seemed to be out of context, but he completely expressed his attitude - not only did Frank not intend to go out and take the blame, he also did not intend to admit that Oscar was at fault, in his opinion , "Anyone of you who is not wrong can come out and throw stones at him." On the premise that the fairness of the awards has not been disturbed, at least not by him, he thinks that Oscar's marketing methods are not a big deal even if they are made public. , Have you ever marketed the Golden Globes? If not, why did you give Kate a double award, so that Kate lost her temper when she won the heroine of "Revolutionary Road", and publicly showed her love? You didn't do any marketing for the Golden Globes, so why did Jennifer Jefferson's words leak out on your awards, which inspired the Oscars to a certain extent?

As long as the foundation is strong and can withstand the criticism of the media, the blatant marketing method is actually not a scandal for the academy. During the censorship, several directors exchanged annoyed glances again, and they used their eyes to express their heartfelt feelings more times today than in the past year: Among the directors, Frank has always been a somewhat annoying diehard, or he's a fake 'Also, since he was a member, Frank has insisted on letting the film do the talking, and will never be affected by PR, and even said that the new voting and counting method implemented in 2006 is the 'predisposition' vote counting The law was also implemented under the impetus of Frank, and in the first session, Jennifer Jefferson got a double award. The ugly atmosphere and phenomena such as favors and ticket sales were completely exposed. This kind of chaos made every director feel shocking, and at the same time made them blush—although they are in the seats of directors, how many of them are there? The mind is for the academy, how much is for their own profit, how many times they have taken the lead in voting in groups, they know it well, these things can't be hidden from others, but they can't be hidden from themselves.

Although according to Frank's idea, the first big oolong is a warning to everyone, and it will make it more difficult for PRs and filmmakers to influence the results of the Oscars, but this big oolong is for the vested interests of the academy Pie is a good opportunity. In the crisis of almost stepping down because of this, Frank reluctantly gave up the idea of ​​promoting the "inclination vote counting method". The department awards returned to the control of the labor unions. It is almost impossible for outsiders to know the open and secret struggles in the game, but the people in the game know it clearly. Frank's words are also very clear: you still want me to take the blame? My term of office is coming up soon, I am really anxious, I invite a third party to investigate, anyway, I am innocent, if you are really as objective as you show, then you are also innocent, if this is the case, you have a guilty conscience what?

——This is the problem. Perhaps in this year's nomination round, with Jennifer's public relations offensive and the momentum of the film this year, many judges will indeed follow their objective choices and praise "Monroe" into the nomination list. After all, this film cannot be justified without being nominated. Moreover, this is only the nomination round after all. Everyone has to write five to ten films. The quota is still free to write, write something that suits my heart. Therefore, the vote rate in the nomination link is actually the most real, and it’s hard to say when it’s time to vote. Even if you haven’t been PR, based on the results of previous sessions, some members will voluntarily give up Jennifer and choose someone else. It's based on Oscar's unwritten rules over the years.

So, after everyone agrees to use Jennifer's news attention to carry out marketing, how to ensure that she won't throw a stone at herself when she won the first award? If Jennifer loses the award, he can only choose to announce the marriage news on other occasions? Frank will not get involved in these matters, and he has always paid attention to objective voting. He has no way to get involved. Only the judges who can form a group can exert their influence and urge members to keep their own choices. Don't give up the real best because of other factors. like.

If we say that the previous grouping was to seek their own interests, then this time, Cheryl believes that the rest of the members of the council are indeed considering the future of the Oscars. The hustle and bustle of the ball really made every director have a strong sense of crisis—this time, their grouping was indeed selfless, and it was indeed justice to the extreme: no one openly asked those members who did not want to choose Jennifer to change. My own approach is exactly the opposite. What the council requires is to let members put aside all external factors, simply talk about movies in terms of movies, and choose the work they really want to choose. This also makes the sinister situation facing the Academy now look like a living satirical drama-for four years, Frank has been in a weak position in the intrigue within the council. If the chairman of public relations is a naive and positive person, and the directors more or less act as supporting roles, then at the last Oscar of Frank's tenure, everything will be completely reversed: after making this When making the decision, Frank couldn't have guessed that the directors would definitely have to work hard during the session to ensure that Jennifer really won the two awards "fairly" in the end. Turning his face and refusing to recognize anyone, insisting that he is not afraid of turning the table, it seems that he does not intend to stand out and take the blame, and fulfill the duties of the chairman.

It's all about 'sacrificing the small self to achieve the big self'. While the positive characters are enjoying it, the negative characters always have the meaning of making compromises, even if they are praised, get the little red flower, Cheryl, etc. People may not change their minds for the sake of the overall situation and justice afterwards, but they fell into a predicament because they claimed to be 'correct'. This made them feel unwilling and wronged in their hearts. Cheryl almost wanted to blurt out and scold Frank was gone—she hadn't really been in awe of Frank after four years of ignoring him.

"Okay." However, looking at Frank's contented expression, Cheryl felt her throat was pinched by a pair of invisible hands. When she finally spoke, even Cheryl herself could Hearing the weakness in his tone, "Frank, is this your opinion? Inviting a third party to intervene in the investigation to prove the academy's innocence? I must remind you, Frank, that the media will never report truthfully. Once Oscar initiates the investigation process, it is tantamount to It is an acknowledgment that there is a problem within us, and as I said before, as the chairman of this term, you will definitely be the target of public criticism. Whether it is for you or for the academy, we must find an effective and fast solution Ways to minimize the impact..."

For many years, Cheryl has been responsible for the public relations and film promotion of film companies such as Paramount and New Line, which also makes her words full of authority, even if she looks resigned to her fate, it is clear Frank, who cooperated, and the change in her attitude also moved Frank's expression, and the rest of the directors looked over one after another——Cheryl had given up on the idea of ​​letting Frank take the blame. Frank threatened to flip the table, but she did not use equal threats to force Frank to submit, but decisively chose to cooperate.

"Admitting that Oscar's choice has an inside story, it seems to satisfy everyone - sacrificing one person can calm the storm, and then let time heal everything, it does sound tempting." Frank finally changed himself With an attitude of not being afraid of boiling water, a dead pig sat up straight, and said in a deep voice, "But it's actually very stupid to do this—everyone, there are controversial choices at the Oscars every year, and every year the Oscars also have marketing-intensive choices. One scene, awards shows always try to attract news, and it's not surprising that they do so. Of course, people can't see it, just like the boss of this storm, that--the most hated man in Hollywood--"

"Perez Hilton." Ed Carter, who had been silent all this time, said in a low voice. He also adjusted his furrowed expression, and began to listen attentively to Frank's opinion.

"Perez Hilton—hehe, I have to say, the most hated person in Hollywood? I have to say, he is very good at putting money on his face..." Frank smiled in a hurry, and then continued Said, "People like this who wander around the fringes of the entertainment industry and eat leftovers from the film industry can write reports that catch wind and shadows no matter what. Are they telling the truth? Maybe not all, but there must be a little truth, but Are people going to be angry about it? People aren't, and under normal circumstances people would just laugh nonchalantly and let it go."

"You may think that what Oscar is facing now is because Jennifer played too much at the award ceremony-you may secretly complain about her being too high-profile in your heart, maybe you will think it is because of her The current level of public attention remains high—” Frank shook his head, “Let’s put aside the question of whether Jennifer is fully cooperating or going too far, let’s talk about the speed of this news, Perez Hilton Your blog post is on CNN? Ladies and gentlemen, CNN?"

Several directors twisted their bodies, showing listening expressions, and Cheryl frowned, and she began to think quickly: If all this is not a spontaneous media incident, but someone behind it Manipulate...

"If there are traces of manipulation in this matter, Frank, do you think the other party is targeting Jennifer or Oscar?" She asked quickly, and began to sort out the context of the news event in her heart: How did this matter happen? Gradually escalated, and in the absence of real evidence, it was posted on the global news network. "Will it be the Golden Globes? They dream of becoming the boss of the Hollywood awards show, and this year's ratings seem to give them an opportunity—this may have stimulated their ambitions."

"Maybe it's Jennifer's enemy," Ed whispered, and he seemed to have completely entered Frank's thinking track, "I'm more inclined to be her enemy, Oscar is just a way for the other party to attack her One of -"

"But that man would not hesitate to get Oscar into trouble just to attack her," Frank said emphatically. A very energetic and capable person, of course he is qualified to be Jennifer's opponent, of course there is no doubt about it, this is also a very bold person, as a big shot in the film industry, he dared to go against Oscar—and Since he is so courageous and capable, of course you can imagine that, for now, the focus of people's attention is still on "whether the Oscars will be given to Jennifer by default in advance", the subject is Oscar, rumors that we do this The arrangement is for ratings considerations, the villain of this matter is still the Oscars - for Jennifer, this just makes her title a bit more controversial, it's not enough to cause her too much trouble, friend Guys, if you understand what I mean..."

Among the more than ten members of the Oscar Council and Committee, only four are selected from various labor unions. They are only industry leaders without much administrative experience. Most of the other directors are former and current members. The domineering president, Frank only needs to click a little, and these domineering presidents can naturally complete their thinking, "His ultimate goal is Jennifer..."

"Even veiled acknowledgment that there might be something wrong with the Oscars will lead to more intense attacks. The media will not follow the usual practice of stopping in this matter, even if we use our contacts to calm down most of the media. , now that public attention has been fired, as long as he can let one media continue, all media can only be forced to follow up."

"Maybe he is just waiting for us to fire a scapegoat, and then intensifies the opening of a wound, trying to pull Jennifer deeper, such as exposing vote bribery——"

"This can achieve his goal and make Jennifer fall into the quagmire, but..." Tom Sarek, who had been silent for a long time, glanced at everyone, and said in a deep voice, "Oscar will fall with Jennifer Down."

Including Frank, everyone looked solemn and acquiesced to Tom's speculation: This kind of thing happens every day in Shanghai. In order to tear Jennifer off the altar, Oscar must fall with him. Next, Whether the academy will recover from the trauma, or whether it will be bitten by its own enemies who are staring at it, and it will decline, the other party is not so concerned. ——And for the members of the council, all of this is actually not that important. As long as things go according to the other party's wishes, no matter what the outcome of the academy is, they will definitely be nailed as the objects of exposure. On the pillar of shame, it can only be mentioned together with the word scandal from now on.

There is no one who can sit in the conference room who is not a successful person in his own field, and no one will complain and blame others when the crisis comes, shouting that it is unfair, and no one will blame Jennifer. JEFFERSON - If you have to make such a gaffe, you have to wait until you get back to your mansion after the meeting. Now, what people need is professional thinking: In any case, Oscar was targeted, and it seems that the attack is still It will continue, so now, the directors can choose nothing more than two paths, first, expel Jennifer Jefferson from the game, let this end, second, stand with Jennifer Jefferson Together, find the enemy so that he does not have the desire to continue attacking. As for whether this is an exchange of benefits, or shouting and killing, or—for some particularly dangerous people, through some gray means of edging the ball, let them The other party has no time to take care of him? These are all minutiae. For these powerful and well-connected figures in the industry, as long as they have a certain idea, how to do it is definitely not a problem.

"There are not many choices left for us." After a meaningful silence, Tom said, "Since there is no recording now, I will just say it-I don't think anyone in this room will It's too loud, right?"

"Exactly."

"You're right, that's crazy."

There were sporadic responses, and more people answered directly with expressions: After all, this is not their own business, but their own reputation, and the future of the college. A live ammunition contest, using gunmen and gang forces for this kind of thing is undoubtedly a bit too much, and no one will cross this bottom line.

"Very good." Tom clasped his hands together and said conclusively, "Then we can only stand with Jennifer Jefferson—does anyone have any objections to this?"

There is still silence: let’s not mention whether Jennifer should be responsible for all this, just talk about Tom’s conclusion, there is no problem, and now unless Jennifer dies suddenly and unexpectedly, there is indeed no force that can kick her out, In fact, any effort to get her out of the game is likely to attract her revenge. Once she starts to turn the table, things will only get worse-if that is the case, no matter whether she dies or not in the end, Oscar will definitely will die first.

"Frank," Tom stared at his predecessor, his expression was a bit complicated, as if he was unwilling to bow his head to the other party at the last moment - the directors also noticed this, and they exchanged calmly eyes—and finally, Tom said, "Then please call Harvey... as long as Jennifer isn't too stupid—even if her supposed political backer is nothing, even if she has nothing to offer Resources to fight back - but I think she has always had something special to get this far in Hollywood, at least she can try to find the person who wants her life for us... and she Will be more than happy to do so."

A few people changed positions again, but no one objected, and Ed sighed softly, and said in a low voice, "Two Oscars--killing a dangerous enemy for her for free--too cheap for her It's..."

"She brought us a ratings of 53 million." Unexpectedly, it was Cheryl who refuted him—this person who came from the publicity department was the one who valued the ratings the most and was the most active in promoting this marketing plan. The strong woman sighed faintly, "Dear Ed, you have to remember this - the trouble caused by the ratings is always worth it..."

Ed couldn't help but shake his head when he thought of the life-long membership union that was hidden behind the scenes, never had to consider the term of office, and didn't even have a fixed name, but had a huge influence on the executive committee. He no longer expressed any negative emotions, but It was silently watching Frank take out his mobile phone and walk to his chairman's office...

#

Before Jennifer can find out such an enemy, Frank and Harvey, Harvey and her will have to take time to discuss the situation. They all returned to their offices, took out their mobile phones and started calling - to Tom Sarek, the next chairman who was watching coldly, their thoughts were clearly revealed: the more unclean their buttocks, the more afraid they would be to lift the table Whether it was Frank's decision to lift the table or his inferences about the situation, these directors' sense of uneasiness increased sharply. I am afraid that now they think more about how to maintain their reputation than fighting for power and profit with their new chairman. status. After all, it is impossible for those who can join the committee to be short of money, and they are still fighting each other so hard. What they value more, of course, is their own name and power.

In the internal management mechanism of the college, the term of office of the chairman and other officials is only four years at most, but the term of general directors can reach nine years. The previous chairman Frank was like this. Unluckily, he encountered a situation at the beginning of his tenure, and then he was suspended all the way for four years. It is no wonder that he will support Jennifer Jefferson this time, and he will never carry this for the academy. Even if you are a scapegoat, you will not hesitate to make trouble with the directors-don't look at everyone's appearance of helping each other in the same boat now, it's hard to say how the remaining resentment will ferment after the matter is resolved. It is still unknown whether Jennifer, who seems to have taken advantage of the benefits now, will be squeezed out by the directors: Although it is useless and unreasonable to blame her, it is hard to say that the directors will survive this crisis. , how sane can be in this matter.

After savoring the current situation for a while, an intriguing smile appeared on Tom's lips: he was satisfied to find that he, who had been keeping silent all this time, seemed to have become an insignificant person in this incident. A small winner, at least, his loss is not very big, but his gain is really not very small.

Of course, in addition to being in front of the stage, you can successfully enter the master academy and gain greater influence than Frank...

Unavoidable, he also turned on his mobile phone. Tom found a familiar number and dialed it.

"Hey, James," has been working at Fox since the day he entered the industry. He was the CEO of Fox for many years and still holds a large stake in Fox. He produced and released "True Lies" and released "Titanic" during his tenure. Tom Sarek of "The Number", said in an intimate tone, "About that thing we talked about before..."

#

"Okay, I see—I totally get it, thank you very much, James..." In her villa located directly in front of the beach, Jenny paced back and forth in the room while answering the phone, "Yes Yes, I see, I know what to say to whom on this matter... Yes, I totally understand Tom's position, in fact, I can't express how grateful I am to him..."

While she was talking, she walked to another corner of the room. Cesare was standing by the window—he was also on the phone, and while listening to the excited voice on the other end of the phone, he made a low voice of approval, Said that he was listening intently, when Jenny came to him, the other end of the phone seemed to ask him a question, and Cesare just said, "About this matter, we..."

Jenny temporarily put the phone away and sent him a clear signal. Cesare raised his eyebrows, without any pause in his mouth, and changed his tone freely, "We have always been suspicious, so-- this It's just you and me, Harvey - we got some hackers, hacked Perez Hilton's email, phone, and of course, everything in his life... you probably won't believe it, Harvey , However, following the clues, the evidence is very conclusive—indeed, Brad Gray from Paramount was behind this incident..."