Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Why is there no news?"

Ronald stayed in the old Wilshire Hotel, which was repeatedly checked by the temporary team brought in by Daniel to ensure that there were no security loopholes. When he woke up in the morning and looked at the newly delivered newspaper, he didn't see a single report he had arranged.

Diane glanced at him. Brother Ronnie looked irritable and nervous. She had rarely seen such a situation before after spending such a long time with him.

"Ronald, there is only one newspaper..." Michael Gray, a media relations consultant, knocked on the door and came in. He was holding a "Hollywood Report" and turned it to page 13, which was on the back half of the stack of newspapers. On the second half of the page, I found a small report:

"The arrest of an employee of the Beverly Police Department is related to leaking the whereabouts of celebrities to tabloid reporters..."

"This is not the news I want!" Ronald threw the newspaper away...

"The media in Los Angeles received a message last night not to publish our news. Only the editor-in-chief of The Hollywood Reporter called me. Because they accepted the advertisements for our two movies, they only published them on the least important pages. …But their editor-in-chief told me that if you are willing to accept their exclusive interview, you can ignore the request of some powerful people.”

"I will not accept an interview now. I can communicate with them. If there is a chance in the future, I can... Why did you reject our PR release? Where has the freedom of the press gone?" Ronald was still angered by the other party's countermeasures.

"Strictly speaking, ours is not an exclusive interview by the editorial department, but a public relations release that relies on advertising budget and negotiation with newspapers..." Michael Gray is very confident in the wisdom of Ronald as his patron, so what's the point? You can talk about things directly without worrying about the other party complaining about your lack of ability.

In fact, the report Ronald wanted to publish was not a product of press freedom. It also relied on money to influence public opinion.

"Then who held down our PR release? What did they rely on? All the media didn't respond?" Ronald felt bad about this all-round silencing ability. The enemy seemed to be more capable than he thought. Be strong.

"It's the same, no matter how we make the newspaper accommodating, they will suppress it."

"Well..." Ronald was no longer anxious. The other party also relied on the pressure of advertising to force the media to silence. This shows that the opponent is not the kind of person with good hands and eyes and the endorsement of a powerful department.

"So why is The Hollywood Reporter willing to accommodate?"

Seeing that there was only Ronald's wife Diane nearby, Michael Gray came up and said a few words in Ronald's ear, "Their boss is not a Jew..."

In the news and publishing industry, which is similar to the film and television industry, Jewish people occupy many senior management and boss positions. Last year, the widow of the founder of The Hollywood Reporter sold the newspaper to Robert Dowling, a non-Jewish media publisher.

This is because the style of "The Hollywood Reporter" is relatively low. It is not as serious as "Variety", a more serious media that caters to high-income readers. It has a lot of gossip and advertising space, and it is not taken seriously by Jews.

Ronald was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect such a relationship. He crossed his hands on his abdomen and fell into deep thought. If someone is unfavorable to him, then at most he can influence one or two media outlets that advertise in the same way as himself. Such a large-scale silencing operation can only be accomplished by people who advertise on a large scale in all media every year.

Ronald had more evidence for his suspicions about his opponent. He asked Gray to call Robert Dowling, publisher of The Hollywood Reporter, to thank him personally and promise more advertising to promote the film.

Dowling happily agreed that he would facilitate Ronald's follow-up reporting. With this result as a basis, Ronald was even more certain that the other party only relied on money to gain certain influence in certain fields.

As long as powerful people within the government are not involved, the so-called "power" is nothing but a laughing stock. Since it was difficult to open up the situation here in Los Angeles, Ronald was ready to let the New York media begin to reveal the issue of being bugged.

Ronald also agreed with Michael Gray to start an attack on the New York Daily News, where he had a strong influence, and strive to attract the attention of influential media such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

"FBI people have gone to the Beverly Police Department today. Craig Stevens is no longer so free." Lindsay Dole came over to inform Ronald of the latest development. Mickey Kanter watches the interrogation of suspects every day. After all, he is a veteran detective in the police department. Without the exposure of the news media, the internal investigation will not be too harsh. Now with the intervention of people from the FBI's Los Angeles branch, The pressure will increase a lot.

"Very good..." Ronald became happy. He could find out some content here, but it would not be so easy to cover up the media over there.

…

"Why did the FBI intervene in this case? Does the suspect have any suspicion of committing crimes across state lines?" Captain John of the Beverly Police Department looked at the two FBI detectives opposite him unhappily.

"The eavesdropping equipment suspected of being used by the suspect Craig Stevens is suspected to be intelligence equipment. We have reason to believe that this is a case related to national security," answered the younger of the two FBI detectives.

Contrary to what many people think, the FBI is also America's internal counterintelligence department, and they also have jurisdiction over such cases.

"Do you have any tangible evidence?"

"We have enough reasons to suspect, so we have to intervene in the investigation..."

"So there is no case? Now this case is still led by the internal investigation department of LAPD. When we have definite evidence, we will notify the FBI branch...", Sheriff John was very unhappy. The FBI even wanted to get involved in this kind of family scandal?

"We will report to the director...", the slightly older FBI agent stopped his excited companion. This matter was assigned by the higher-ups, but it did cross the line a little. Facing the resistance of the police station, it is better to do less than more. Young people still need to learn more and not be obsessed with justice.

"However, we hope to interview the suspect to confirm the accusation of national security." The older agent hinted to the sheriff to give them something to report.

"Okay, but our internal investigation department must be present..."

"You should understand that we are the FBI. Don't use the experience of dealing with your colleagues on us?" The young agent, in the closed small room, faced Craig Stevens with a very tough attitude.

He is an elite who graduated from the FBI Academy. He deliberately turned up the air conditioning temperature, and the coffee he gave Craig Stevens made the suspect very uncomfortable. The carefully built psychological defense line was slowly collapsing.

"I..." Craig Stevens opened his mouth. He wanted a glass of water. Sweat was flowing down his back. How did the FBI get provoked? Is the boss also being targeted?

"Who gave you the wiretapping device you placed? We are tracking down this black market deal. As long as you can accuse your boss..."

"I..." Craig Stevens hesitated.

"You want the judge to give you a promise, right? Your pension is gone, Craig. Is it necessary to go to jail again? The charge of national security, when you come out, you won't be excited to see beautiful women, right?

I will plead with the judge. He is very likely to let you go, Craig."

"Bang..."

Just when Craig Stevens was a little loose, the door was opened and a lawyer with a hump nose walked in.

"Mr. Craig Stevens is my client. The FBI cannot interrogate him in my absence without reason. From now on, I must be present for all interrogations."

The lawyer glanced at Craig Stevens. He gave me a look that I didn't show, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"If there is no evidence that my client is involved in the FBI's business scope, will you continue?" The lawyer glanced at his watch and signaled to continue the interrogation. With him present, the FBI would be even less likely to find out anything.

"Let's go..." The old FBI agent pulled his young companion, who stood up and left unwillingly.

Craig Stevens was taken by his lawyer to a meeting room without recording equipment, where lawyers and clients can enjoy confidentiality privileges. Craig immediately said, "I don't have anything..."

"Of course you don't..." The lawyer interrupted him, "Antonio asked me to tell you, as long as you insist that this is a civilian product imported from Israel, the FBI will have no excuse to intervene, and you will be fine. The big boss behind Antonio will compensate you for the LAPD's pension. As long as you continue to be as smart as you are now, everything will be arranged."

...

"What? The FBI just gave up?" Ronald was furious when he heard the news.

"The FBI is also a group of bureaucrats. They are not as hardworking as in Hollywood movies." Mickey Kanter, a lawyer who came specially, tried to calm Ronald down. "It would be better to have news media exposure now to further increase their pressure... How is your side?"

"I'm in the process, you wait two days..." Ronald's New York back-up plan needs time.

"Ronald, Ovitz asked you to come over. He wants to talk to you in person." As he was talking, Richard came in with a message from Ovitz.

"What does he mean?" Ronald was already 70% sure that Ovitz was the mastermind behind this incident against him. Now he suddenly wants to meet me in person, I don't know what he means.

"He said that he learned from the Hollywood Reporter that there may be a misunderstanding with you, and he wants to invite you to CAA to talk, he will explain the matter clearly and clear up the misunderstanding."

"Then go..." Ronald wanted to hear what Ovitz himself thought.

...

"Ronald..." Michael Ovitz still had that fake smile on his face, standing at the door of the office to greet Ronald.

"Michael..." Ronald shook hands with him and gave him a perfunctory smile.

"Do you remember the first time we met? At that time, you showed me the script for ten minutes, and I concluded that you were a screenwriter genius. Look, the facts prove that my vision is still inaccurate. Your achievements are ten times greater than my wildest imagination at the time."

Ovitz didn't care. He asked Ronald to sit down, and then he sat on the sofa next to him, revealing his colorful socks on his feet, reminiscing about the past with Ronald like an old friend.

"I heard that you have something to tell me?" Ronald didn't want to hear such a long time ago.

"Hey, I do have something to say. A lot of media outlets have received the news releases you want to publish, and I have some disagreements on this matter."

Ovitz realized that emotional talk was not going to work, so he got back to business.

His meaning is very clear. If this matter is exposed in the media, then everyone in Hollywood will be in danger, and many stars who have signed agency contracts with CAA may panic and switch to other agencies. Company turmoil. After all, Ronald himself is a client of CAA, and there were leaks in CAA's offices, so he admitted that he suppressed the news in the hope that Ronald would agree to resolve the issue internally and not make it public.

"I just want the truth to see who is behind it and wants something to happen to me, or do you already know who it is, Michael?"

"This is not the first time this has happened in Hollywood, nor will it be the last. Ronald, considering the entire industry, you don't want the Hollywood scandal to become known to the world, right?"

"Also, if you can find out who is behind the scenes internally, let him quit Hollywood forever."

"Ronald, don't be so extreme. This is how this industry is... It's not that I don't stand in your position. It's just that this kind of eavesdropping is too common. We usually solve it internally... We need to maintain the integrity of the industry. Benefit."

"I am also your client. How does CAA protect my interests?"

Seeing the difficulty of speaking, Ovitz had to slowly soften. He promised Ronald that he would definitely find out the man behind this embarrassment for Ronald. As long as Ronald could not make the scandal within the industry public this time, he would In future Oscar selections, more resources will be given to Ronald.

It was okay not to mention this, but Ronald became even more angry when he mentioned it, "Are you the only ones who can enjoy the default resource support of CAA?"

"What do you mean by our people?" Ovitz was also a little uneasy. He felt uncomfortable hearing this title.

Ronald didn't speak, just looked at the most powerful agent in Hollywood with a smile. What else does it mean? Of course you are Jews.

"I think you may be referring to our ethnic group. You may have some misunderstandings about us. Our ability to stand out in the performance industry is the joint result of history and the efforts of people of our own ethnic group..."

"In Europe, we are restricted to only engage in certain industries. The church does not allow lending, so the lords and kings ask us to come. Ordinary citizens do not want to engage in entertainment work, so our ethnic group is just such a funny clown... "

Ovitz talked about a lot of history of how the Jews were bullied. The reputation of the Jews in history was deliberately created by the European lords and kings, as well as the church. On the one hand, they let the Jews do these despicable jobs, and on the other hand, when the people became dissatisfied because of social injustice, the Jews were thrown out as scapegoats.

For thousands of years, Jews have not been able to buy property in European cities and villages. Without land, they can only wander around and be thrown out every few decades as a punching bag for the public's anger. The survivors were then brought back by the kings to continue making dirty gloves.

The descendants of the Jews cannot accumulate wealth. They can only work hard in education to give their children a skill. Whether it is being a banker or a clown, it is always a skill that allows the ethnic group to reproduce.

In short, Ovitz wanted to show Ronald that the dominant position of Jews in these industries was achieved through their own efforts.

"But the American government doesn't restrict you from buying property..." Ronald didn't believe this excuse at all. Maybe they were treated unfairly back then, but now this kind of teaming up in the film and television industry has nothing to do with being persecuted. It has nothing to do with it.

They just want to monopolize the talent output of this industry through some soft means. Those ugly young Jewish actors have a difficulty in entering the industry that is simply not comparable to that of other ethnic groups. As a result, there are almost no young handsome men and beautiful women in the entertainment industry. In the long run, it will be impossible to know who is the sinner in the entertainment industry.

"America is a relatively fair place. People don't judge you because of your ethnicity. They still judge you based on your talent and hard work."

"Don't be ridiculous. Look at history. When was the Chinese Exclusion Act canceled and when did blacks gain equal status?" Ovitz sneered.

"Let's not talk about these huge issues. I want to ask you, how do you plan to deal with this eavesdropping matter?" Ronald had nothing to say for a while. The phenomenon of discrimination in America is actually no worse than in Europe.

Ovitz laughed. He took a bottle of brandy from the drawer, poured a glass for Ronald, and said slowly, "Of course I hope you can enter this system. We are very open, as long as you are willing, You can deal with it however you want, there is still a lot you need to learn in this industry, and over time, you will also benefit from it. ”

Ronald rolled his eyes. He had no intention of joining Judaism. Besides, neither Diane nor herself were Jewish, so how could she join?

"This is not difficult. For example, Spielberg's new girlfriend, Kate Capshaw, is not a Jew, as long as she is willing to respect Jewish customs. She proposed that she and Spielberg should follow the Jewish customs wedding ceremony."

Ovitz was very satisfied with the Raiders of the Lost Ark actress. Her appearance was Spielberg's favorite type, and she actively moved closer to her ethnicity, which was enough to transform Spielberg, who originally didn't take Judaism seriously. Ronald can handle it the same way. "

"But do I want to change my family? You may not know that my grandfather's lineage was the first to come here on the Mayflower (of course, I also have the lineage of a young child studying in the United States, but I won't tell Ovitz about this. "

"It doesn't matter. Our ethnic group doesn't really value the paternal line. As long as your maternal line has Jewish ancestry, it's fine. Do your grandmother, mother, and grandmother have any suitable ones?" Ovitz didn't care.

"That's impossible. My grandmother is a British aristocrat, and my mother is a Quaker. You should know what kind of people they are. They have nothing to do with Jews." Ronald really didn't understand the mentality of the Jews.

"Why do I have to join you? Can't people of other ethnic groups succeed in the entertainment industry?"

"It's a pity that you got married too quickly. I have found a very good Jewish girl for you, who suits your preferences. She was a child star, with a plump figure and a rounder face than traditional Hollywood actresses. In fact, you just need to agree now. The greatest advantage of our ethnic group is patience."

As Ovitz spoke, he began to deviate from the direction of the conversation. He was talking about the girl who played the childhood heroine in "Once Upon a Time in America". She just turned 18 and looked like a young version of Diane Lane. Although these Hollywood directors don't say it, their aesthetics are relatively fixed, and they often like the same type of girls from beginning to end.

For example, Ronald, his two long-term girlfriends are all those with round faces, explosive bodies, and dark hair...

But female stars are creatures, who doesn't like younger ones?

"I don't want to discuss this disgusting topic with you anymore..." Ronald stood up. Ovitz's words hinted that Ronald should divorce and marry a Jewish girl, and he took the opportunity to attack.

"You should think about it more, Ronald." Ovitz shook the brandy steadily. These young people just don't understand the essence of the industry - they should listen to the Jews... But young people can only learn after hitting a wall. The strength of the Jews is patience. It took them sixty years to make Hollywood what it is now...

"Ronald..."

Ronald, who was walking out, saw another founding shareholder of CAA, Ron Mayer, in the aisle.

Mayer was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and casual clothes. Next to him was movie star Ellie McGraw, the heroine of the tear-jerking love movie "Love Story". She still had her charm and was very close to Mayer.

"Mr. Mayer, Ms. McGraw." Ronald greeted them.

"Nicita told me about your situation. If you need me to come forward, you can call me at any time." Ron Mayer whispered in Ronald's ear while hugging Ronald.

There seemed to be something behind these words. Mayer might be cooperating with Ovitz, or he and Ovitz were not always on the same side.

"Thank you, I will."

Ronald did not want to understand Mayer's true attitude now. He had other more important things to do.

Rushed back to the hotel and held a simple meeting with several core staff. Ronald decided not to compromise. The matter has come to such a point that it is meaningless to give in. After all, he cannot join them...

"Doug, my matter has encountered great resistance. I need the help of the First Family. Can you find George Jr. and see if he can arrange a meeting?" After everyone left, Ronald called Douglas Jr. alone.

"Is it time to use this relationship?"

"Yes, I need some support from the top."

"Well, wait for my reply and prepare the plane."