Hollywood Domination Chapter 309: Closing time (middle)

“The college will never give up the recognition of a masterpiece because of any factors, whether it is his or her past achievements, political stance, or doubts from the outside world. Only a masterpiece can make the award immortal! ——As long as Ms. Jefferson continues to produce masterpieces, then there is no reason for members of the academy not to vote for her!"

With a 'snap', Brad Gray turned off the TV. He put his hands back into the warm hot tub, propped his chin up and lost himself in thought again, and glanced thoughtfully at his face from time to time. The phone seemed to be waiting for it to ring, and seemed to be hesitating whether to pick it up and make a few calls: Oscar’s sudden statement last night was indeed puzzling, and it also made Brad feel the pain in front of him. The fog has deepened, and it is rare for him, who is at the peak of power in Hollywood, to feel this way - he really doesn't understand the situation in front of him... I have already stopped, and according to the tacit understanding under the table, this The matter has actually come to an end, and most of them will end like this. Of course, the war between him and Jennifer may have just begun, but Brad really can't understand that it is obviously over. , What team will Oscar come to? Did they really treat Jennifer Jefferson so differently? This level of support has far exceeded the understanding of ordinary people, and it does not match the feeling Oscar gave him when he came into contact with him...

Yes, Brad didn't think that this matter could be kept secret forever, and he could be behind the scenes for a lifetime-this is indeed a very unrealistic idea, after all, whether it is contacting Perez Hilton or in the The use of influence behind the scenes and the activation of contacts in CNN and other media involve many links composed of people. As long as there is a mistake in one link, rumors may spread. However, the development of things was indeed somewhat unexpected: both Jennifer and Oscar were a little over-excited in order to jointly hype, and so many flaws were revealed in the live broadcast. This is a golden opportunity. If played well, Jennifer If Foo falls down like this, it is very likely that he will not be able to get up again... Even if there is substantive evidence for Cesare Vijari's illegal investment in shares, the effect will not be as good as the failure of the hype at the Oscars Well, Brad thought to himself that the timing and method of his shots were impeccable, but what he didn't understand was, how did he end up like this after such a good start? According to common sense, this is really impossible——

In Brad's estimation, at least three months, both Oscar and Jennifer will be in a state of suspicion. I can't stand up anymore, and I won't be a threat to the Big Six in the next few years. The long-term and continuous lawsuits are like a wound on Dameng's body, which will cause Dameng to lose blood continuously, and there is no way to become stronger again. At that time, Brad plans to repair the relationship with Dameng and try to win one or two projects. It would be great if Jennifer can star in a Paramount movie, whether it is the Star Trek series Or the Transformers series, you can let Jennifer choose - although it is impossible to win Oscar's favor again, but even if Jennifer's box office ability is affected by the scandal, there will still be some left, and I can cooperate with her, Brad There is no hesitation or anything.

However, to Brad's disappointment, there has been no good news from irs. Judging from his old friend's tone, although the news that Cesare Vijri may have illegally invested in shares has aroused their interest, However, Dameng’s equity and dividends have been stable over the years, and Cesare Vijari’s finances are also quite normal. In fact, according to the feedback from the business detective Brad himself hired, this man completely violated the ‘more According to the law of "the rich get dirtier", the financial records are as clean as a lamb that has just been bathed, there is almost no suspicious income from overseas, and the money he earns can fully afford the life he is living now, and this is Overshadowed by his revelations at the time, Brad guessed that the IRS people had lost interest in big dreams after the first half a month, especially now that Cesare is likely to marry Jennifer soon Yes, this will also make the irs investigators retreat: the transfer of property within marriage is a blind spot for monitoring. Even if they know that they got married to cover up the transfer of equity, or simply for money laundering, after weighing the litigation costs, irs will not It is impossible to spend too much effort in this area. After all, the goal of the agents is not to proclaim justice and expose the hypocrisy of the rich. Their goal is to recover the most money for IRS with the least cost. Although this organization seems to be non-profit , but like all not-for-profit institutions in the United States, they really value money.

Can't help turning on the TV again, and watched the Oscar spokesman's speech from the beginning, Brad looked at Ed Carter's expression, thinking about how much he could get out of the old man - Ed also He was a senior producer, and he worked with Paramount on the blockbuster "Tomb Raider" a few years ago, so he did have friendship with Brad, but just a few days ago, he also gave Brad Brad still remembers the annoyed tone of the phone call that put pressure on him—different from the high-sounding statement at the press conference, Ed expressed aggressively as soon as he came up and the other senior officials who called. The meaning of the guy: "Take the Oscar as a fuss, do you want to win an award for Paramount's movies in the future?"

It's so simple and rude, it's so straightforward, if you are not convinced, just expose this phone call, then Oscar will definitely be in trouble, but at the same time, Brad will not be able to get along in the industry ——Having been in the industry for so long, Brad still knows what to poke out and what to hide. Many people who called have deep ties to Paramount, and they have a lot of dirty materials about Paramount in their hands, which is enough to make this old company face a catastrophe, let alone the people they represent. It doesn't matter if you don't win an Oscar. If you really want to annoy this group of bigwigs, they will work together and tie the knot among the other big companies to organize a campaign against Paramount. In terms of sniping, Paramount may not be able to bear it—not to mention, the board of directors is more likely to order Brad to step down directly to appease Oscar's anger. It will also make him feel embarrassed: It is precisely because he has been in this position for five years and knows how huge the resources can be used in this position, Brad is deeply in awe of the power of the company. After all, he can organize To launch such a huge offensive to deal with Jennifer, it is not by myself, but by the company Paramount...

"Since when did things start to change?" I rewatched the press conference for the fifth time, and confirmed for the fifth time that Ed Carter's anger should not be directed at him, so Brad felt a little relieved At one point, he scratched his chin and whispered to himself, "Since when did I lose my rhythm..."

The current situation is not the worst for Brad-it is true that Oscar has so firmly endorsed and clarified Jennifer, and even publicly promised that he will not discriminate against her movies in the future, which shows his Another damage done to Jennifer by the action has been repaired, Jennifer's fall was not as hard as it seemed before, but for Brad anyway, he actually achieved his goal, Jennifer Foo did have a fall after her fifth Oscar, and she did need a long time to make up for the impact of this scandal. Her momentum was indeed bruised by Brad, and her rhythm was also affected. Otherwise, she should now walk out of the auditorium with her new husband amidst the sound of blessings, from one glory to another, and use this momentum to make Big Dream a film company in the halo of dreams—as long as it can cause Jennifer Even if it is Brad's success, he only has the problem of winning more than he wins, so even after he promised not to use Oscar to attack Jennifer, he did imply that newspapers and magazines should stop here and stop publishing drafts. Unexpectedly, he was on Jennifer's side, and Brad didn't care that much. What really made him care was this sense of loss of control—the situation didn't develop in the direction he speculated, but was unexpected again and again. , Whether it is the efficiency of the college, the firmness of repeated statements, or even the attitude of Jennifer Jefferson, all deviate from Brad's previous predictions, and this sense of loss of control even makes him a little An ominous premonition, just like an old fisherman's feeling when fishing. Although you can't tell what's wrong, maybe just the action of throwing out the net will make your heart sink, knowing that the net may It's going to be empty.

Why is it that Oscar's people are so sure that he is behind the shots? Even if someone betrayed him and tipped off the academy, it is impossible to leave any real evidence for such a thing. Brad also thinks he is very careful, never directly coming forward, just relying on his mouth, how can the betrayer convince the council that he is Behind the scenes? Besides, given the degree of infighting in the board of directors—especially now that the old and the new are changing, the board members and Frank and Tom are not of one mind. Countermeasures, disintegrate Oscar's counterattack from within—or simply change tactics before Oscar makes a decision, end the tying attack, and always grasp the initiative, but the rhythm of the whole thing is completely different from Brad's prediction, and the academy knows— —and knew it quickly, believed it—and believed it even faster, agreed—faster than ever before, and then, when everything seemed to have calmed down, they issued this statement again, as if to use My own reputation pulled Jennifer out of the quagmire, and I used my strength for many years to vouch for Jennifer, confirming that her acting skills are enough to win awards, confirming that she will win awards in the future, and even confirming that there has never been any collusion and hype, Jennifer Just a poor girl and all the **** about her is bullshit.

Why is Oscar so nice to Jennifer? There is absolutely no reason for this. This girl is not the darling of Harvey Weinstein. In recent years, her relationship with Weinstein has even drifted away. won a Best Supporting Actress. Although Weinstein has cooperated with her tactically, strategically he must be wary of her as a competitor who has his own film company. It is impossible for him to inherit all his college connections to Jennifer, and Sidney Although Pollack allowed the girl to have a basic foundation in the college, it still can't make the college treat Jennifer as her own daughter. The college's preference and support for Jennifer has reached a bizarre level, at least normal Logic can't explain it. It's all about picking yourself out. It's obviously a grievance between Jennifer and Paramount. Why does the academy have to step in and stand up to protect Jennifer from the wind and rain?

Following Brad's unrestrained thoughts, the absurd rumor from a few years ago once again appeared in Brad's thoughts, and he pulled it out suspiciously, re-tasting every aspect of this rumor: From the year when she won the double award, there were rumors that Jennifer had a backer with great powers, and it was this backer that allowed Jennifer to win two Oscars in one year. The so-called loopholes in the voting rules are just a fig leaf for the academy. In fact, the result has already been confirmed long before the voting starts. This year's double award is a parting gift given to Jennifer by that big shot...

At the time, Brad just laughed off this rumor, but now, he couldn't help but start to waver: How much energy does Jennifer have? If it weren't for such a big man with all-hands and eyes to go through the needles behind her back, how could Oscar spoil her to this extent? In the absence of conflicts of interest, this is really too much...

Because of this faint doubt, Brad is a little hesitant about the future strategy. Originally, for him, accepting Oscar's warning and no longer hyping the "hype theory" is just going with the flow. Going to focus on Jennifer and Cesare's fake marriage - questioning the hype is only the first step, making the public suspicious of St. Jennifer, after that, Brad has too much to do Now, the timing of Jennifer and Cesare's marriage, and the rumor that Cesare had participated in the Dream in the early days...

Even if Jennifer is well aware of the power behind these reports, Brad can't think of much for her to defend herself. This is the advantage of the media. Michael Jackson and child lover rumors are entangled After half a lifetime, is there any real evidence? Michael Jackson only needs to buy off a few children who were once entertained to Fantasyland, and Michael Jackson has to spend countless money and time on lawsuits, and the media can naturally spread his love/child suspicion cloud all over the world, so that everyone can hear him , will instinctively ask, "I know him—does he have an extra interest in little boys?" It's too easy to demonize a big star, even if Jennifer Jefferson is so low-key Well, Brad also has countless ways to keep her exhausted, even if he temporarily abandons the point of fake marriage, he has also prepared the groundwork for the virginity ring-although in his opinion, this matter was originally a hype, but Most of Cesare Vijari destroyed all the evidence he could find before he dared to claim this. However, evidence can always be fabricated. Find Jennifer's high school classmates and fabricate some messages about promiscuity. Make some photos... There are too many ways to play, the question is how to play, and whether Brad can bear the consequences of playing - if Jennifer really has such a backer, then Brad really He has to weigh it carefully, not to mention that he has only obtained the consent of a few heavyweight directors, even if the entire board of directors approves it, he has to think carefully, if he really angered some big shots, will the board of directors take him out? Throw it out as a scapegoat, find another CEO, and enjoy the safe space he created for the company...

"Can this matter stop here?" After all, Paramount is not Brad's own company. To be honest, I wanted to 'fuck her' before, but it was because in Brad's heart, Jennifer, a cutting-edge boss supported by Disney, did not threaten his ability at all, but now, as soon as he began to suspect the real power behind Jennifer, and felt uneasy about the speed at which his identity was leaked, Brad immediately From selflessness to self-preservation: You may not be able to take advantage of this kind of strategic matter. If it is the current situation, then Brad can sit back and watch the big dream grow until the big dream really grows. When the board of directors can't remain indifferent, then start to arrange some things. At that time, even if something really happens, Brad is confident that he won't need to take the blame... "Maybe we can push this matter to Michael, or It was Simon, and his position in the board of directors was relatively embarrassing. How much did Jennifer know about this matter now? Did she pass the news to the college, or did the college find out by itself? If it was the latter, did the college tell the news? Is she... No matter what, inviting Dameng to enter "Transformers 2" is a good way to reconcile. Can explain the past..."

Just as he was thinking about aggressive or conservative strategies, his phone suddenly buzzed. Brad, who was a bit fat and not so flexible, seemed to have been buffed in an instant, and jumped out quickly. After getting out of the bathtub, he grabbed his Nokia mobile phone and checked the text messages on it—anyone who knows this number is an important person who will contact him now, and it is very likely that it is the director Michael, who is quite supportive of the big dream. Michael, who was attacking, was also very concerned about Oscar's statement yesterday...

Seeing an unfamiliar number appear on the phone screen, Brad's eyes couldn't help but narrow his eyes—it was an MMS message with the title 'Watching the News', and the distributed pictures and hyperlinks from the shortcut page can't be seen here.

After opening the SMS program, Brad found that the picture was a screenshot of the TMZ website, and the words Jennifer Jefferson could be vaguely seen on it, and his heart beat a little faster—Jennifer responded? Just the day after the Oscars? —Who would believe that they did not conspire?

Without thinking about it, he clicked on the link, and the mobile browser was automatically invoked, and opened the tmz website in circles——Brad waited impatiently for a while, and found that the website hadn't been opened for a long time, and couldn't help but Curse a soft '*': a&t's network is like this, the signal is always weak in this corner of the house.

Without thinking about it, he put his phone in his bathrobe pocket, put on his slippers and walked to the study room, opened his laptop, and found the tmz website—as expected, the headline of the website was the statement issued by Jennifer Jefferson: "Jennifer Jefferson's spokesperson expressed helplessness to the whole matter."

"They really like TMZ..." Frowning, Brad muttered softly: TMZ and Jennifer Jefferson have a very good relationship, although they also participated in the questioning of Jennifer Come on, but there is no doubt that TMZ's reports are the most objective, just like the Disney media, unless there are videos, they will never let go of rumors that are unfavorable to Jennifer, and because it is expanding very fast, now It is almost the largest news website in the United States, which also makes the attack on Jennifer on the Internet less powerful. Now, once Jennifer speaks out, she chooses TMZ as the first headline. In other words, tmz is actually Jennifer's basic position in the newspaper media, which also gave him a more ominous feeling-it seems that the unfavorable news released by tmz before should be approved by Jennifer's team. In other words, it is very possible that this one-sided situation was appeased by Jennifer's team. It's not that they have no power to fight back, but they didn't choose to use it before...

Throwing away some unpleasant conjectures—or delusions, Brad clicked on the link, quickly skipped those meaningless introductions and introductions, and read directly the meat of the show, "Jennifer's PR Zhu Dee Ackerman said that for this farce, Jennifer felt the same as the college, and they both deeply regretted it and thought it was very absurd. For many years, the media has endlessly invaded Jennifer's private life and used For profit, any response from Jennifer will become a tool for them to continue to hype. We have encountered hacking incidents and eavesdropping incidents, which have brought great trouble to Jennifer's life, and even directly triggered death threats from stalker. , Jennifer has always been committed to separating private life from work. What happened at the Golden Globe Awards has already made Jennifer feel vigilant. Her cryptic confession out of true feelings has attracted everyone's speculation. In order to avoid further media hype, Jennifer dropped the campaign, all because of her knowledge of certain media. We can actually tell you now that she and Cesare Vijri have been dating for a while and the two are about to start planning for the future , after winning the best actress award at the Oscar night, Jennifer was encouraged by her friends to conclude a marriage contract with Cesare Vijri. The reason for the public confession. Cesare has been Jennifer's friend and partner for many years, and Jennifer wants to share the award with the person she loves the most. Although this matter is impulsive, it is not difficult to understand."

"However, what makes us regret is that after the Oscars, some forces seem to have launched public opinion attacks against Jennifer. We don't know what their purpose is, and we can't guess, but their intention to provoke public criticism is extremely strong. Obviously, after the joy, Jennifer decided to carry out the low-key policy that has always been, and I begged my friends to remain silent. Now, we have finally made up our minds to tell everyone: All doubts are purely smearing and disrespecting Oscar and Jennifer. To clarify As a matter of fact, to resolve all disputes at one time, we have obtained the consent of the photographer and the people involved in the shooting, and released the video that was intended to be used as a family treasure with their permission..."

Video?

Video as evidence?

Brad's heartbeat suddenly soared, he swallowed, and clicked the play button—however, the internet speed at home tonight seemed to be a bit unsatisfactory. Slow, it is still buffering after half a day.

"Ah!" Brad let out a irritated low growl for Jennifer's boring words after he had no intention of going to see the PR. Describe the content of the video—however, when he turned on the phone and wanted to enter the dial page, even the phone seemed to be stuck and dead. Nothing moves.

"*!" couldn't help but swear, Brad didn't realize what happened until now - after trying hard for a while without a response, he threw the phone aside and walked towards the door of the study , ready to find a spare phone...

It wasn't until his hand was on the doorknob that Brad suddenly realized what appeared in his field of vision when he glanced at the phone just now—

SMS page!

It should not be an SMS page! Wasn't the phone in the browser when he put it down?

Brown tightened, and a strong sense of foreboding hit Brad. He rushed back to the desk, and checked his phone again—but this time, the response of the phone was very smooth. The page also returned to the main interface. Brad tried to operate a few times, and the response was normal. He went back to the computer, checked his computer in a random way, and turned on the anti-virus software: so far everything is normal , there seems to be no trace of poisoning.

"Well, could it be that I'm oversensitive..." Brad thought as he opened the SMS page, preparing to write down the unfamiliar number and check which friend sent the warning. However, when he opened the After the SMS interface, his heartbeat seemed to stop for a moment——

No! No! That text message has disappeared... The last text message in the text message interface was a service text message sent by the operator four hours ago, and that strange text message has disappeared without a trace, as if everything just now was his illusion!

Have your phone been hacked?

What data is missing?

Brad stood up with goosebumps all over his body, and the soft bathrobe seemed a bit too rough for his extremely sensitive skin now, and he even had an urge to go to the toilet—— In the extreme tension, his bladder also reacted, and he quickly checked his mobile phone: photo album, email, calendar, call list, desperately recalling what sensitive actions he had done with the mobile phone, what could not withstand the exposure Action——

Yes, he used this mobile phone to contact the middleman and asked him to find Perez Hilton...

Desperately scrolling down the text message list, when he saw John Doyle's name appearing in the list, Brad's scalp exploded, and he had completely lost his composure as a CEO. He pressed his phone desperately, He wanted to delete this text message from He—this text message that he had already deleted, but it appeared on his mobile phone strangely: 'The bill will be sent to you, Perez will post a blog immediately'... and the corresponding text message that appeared in The text message in the outbox: 'The article has been sent to you, please keep it confidential when contacting Perez'...

However, at this time, the phone completely lost its response. Brad frantically pressed it for a while, sweat dripped down his hair, and after a while, he threw the phone in a panic. On the ground, I stepped on it twice with my upper foot-but the **** Nokia is so strong, Brad's two feet don't seem to have caused any damage to it at all, it is still lying on the ground unharmed, and the screen is still flashing let People hate shimmer.

"Calm down, calm down." Closing his eyes and panting for a few breaths, Brad repeated this sentence, trying to calm himself down: Very good, now there are hackers taking over the phone, you know Knowing that he is behind the scenes, the world has not come to an end, there is nothing wrong, no matter who is standing behind the hacker, or no one is standing just asking for money, they always have demands, as long as they have demands, they can make transactions...

"咻咻——" The computer's prompt sound made Brad almost jump up. It took him a while to realize that it was the sound of a new email—sit back in his chair and opened it. In the mailbox, he took out a few sheets of paper and pasted them on his face. After a while, the paper was soaked in sweat and became transparent. Brad rubbed it a little, and it became paper wadding.

"Hi, Brad." Sure enough, it was another unfamiliar email address with a very concise and clear title. Brad took a breath and rubbed his forehead again. He smelled the sweat from his underarms, which mixed with the scent of essential oil bath salts, making him dizzy and nauseous—he took a deep breath, and finally clicked on the email.

"Hi, Brad." The content of the email was actually only such a sentence, which included a still photo of Jennifer Jefferson's Marilyn Monroe, wearing a white evening dress and wearing Monroe's hairstyle, She was winking at the camera with some crude special effects that made her eyes blink exaggeratedly, as if interacting with Brad on the other side of the computer screen, while Brad was staring at it. Suddenly, the computer screen went completely black, and the photo was magnified and appeared in the center of the completely black screen, with a line of words constantly flashing below it.

"Hi, Brad." Jennifer Monroe blinked constantly. Brad cursed in a low voice while frantically looking for the button to cut out the full screen.

"Does it feel good to be a villain?" The words were changed, and the photos were also changed. Monroe pursed her lips to the camera, blinking her eyes constantly, "I guess it must be good, isn't it? "

"*!" Brad gave up all his efforts. He slumped on the expensive ergonomic chair and stared at the screen in dismay. On the dark screen, another photo was quickly changed. Monroe was looking back at a door as if it had just been knocked - as if she was aware of a picture of Colin Clark's arrival.

"Bell——" the distant ringing sounded to Brad's ears from the direction of the door, and the usually normal ringing sound was so piercing that Brad had to open his mouth to breathe now, otherwise, he felt himself He was almost out of breath—innumerable ominous premonitions passed through his mind, and there were so many things he wanted to know now that he didn't even know where to think of them, but instead entered a kind of numb calm State, and then slowly calmed down.

"coming——" Brad's life assistant for many years yelled in the distance. Brad turned his head and glanced at the door, his eyes fell on the phone, but he quickly shook his head: This matter is not Not breaking the law——

He calmed down quickly and felt like he had found hope: Yeah, this thing is not illegal! No matter what Jennifer Jefferson—or whoever was using her picture—was trying to do, these things weren't going to bring him down!

It may be a coincidence, or it may be that the other party is spying on his movements through the computer camera. Just when Brad's face turned relaxed, the original static photo also became active. The blue eyes and plump red lips were also given special effects, winking and smiling at Brad, and winking at him: "I heard you like irs very much."

The photo was changed again, this time in the "Chicago" stage play, Jennifer, who played the role of Roxy, was wearing a prisoner uniform and standing behind the bars. Smile, "You'll enjoy your time behind bars."

The picture flashes, the photo disappears without a trace, and another recording screen replaces it. Countless file names marked with familiar abbreviations are copied, pasted, uploaded to the mailbox, and sent to the mailbox with the suffix irs. The information stored in Ladd's computer, those tax-related information flashed on the search page, were constantly found by search commands, and appeared in the folder... There was a knock on the door of the study, and a strange male voice said loudly, "irs, Mr. Gray."

Brad stared at the computer in a daze, and then followed the movement from the door, and looked at the door dully. The emails from him disappeared without a trace. Just like the text messages just now, the last email in his mailbox was still a few hours ago. The greeting emails sent by his children who were on vacation were only in an earlier time period. Several asterisked emails appeared that should have been deleted long ago, those related to taxation—

"Mr. Gray?" The knock on the door sounded again, this time louder and more determined, "Mr. Gray, I hear your voice, please open the door, otherwise we will be forced to take coercive measures."

Mobile phone, computer, door, Brad's eyes hesitated back and forth between these three points, like a lost child, he stood up, but changed his mind, picked up the phone and looked around, Wanting to find a suitable hiding place - but after seeing the computer, he put down the phone again -

There was a slight sound of the doorknob being pushed down, and the door was pushed open. Several tax detectives in uniform pressed their hands on their waists and walked in vigilantly. Brad was not closed, and at this moment, in the long-forgotten browser page, the video that Brad opened suddenly finished buffering, and a series of background noises erupted.

"Ohmygod!" said Jennifer's voice excitedly in a series of rustling, "I'm so happy, Mary, seriously, I'm so happy right now..."