"Hahaha, I didn't expect this—such a lucky turn of events."
In the CEO's office of Sky Dance Studios, David Ellison was laughing heartily. Joining in were Mel Gibson, Michael Ovitz, and Martin Bob.
"We've already mobilized the media and are fully hyping this. I believe it will have a significant impact on The Dark Knight."
"Exactly, and we might as well drag that bastard Gilbert into it too. Violent people always stick with violent people—he must have been involved somehow."
Mel Gibson was the happiest. When Will Smith's incident happened earlier, he wanted to get involved but was persuaded by David Ellison and Michael Ovitz not to.
But this time, Mel Gibson decided not to let it go, aiming straight for the weak spot to attack Gilbert.
Michael Ovitz felt the same. Back then, one of his clients, Sean Connery, was exposed as a domestic abuser due to Gilbert's connections, ruining Sean Connery's reputation.
Ovitz had never forgotten that and had held a grudge for years.
David Ellison waved his hand. "We've investigated. Gilbert has never committed domestic violence or assaulted anyone.
And he doesn't need to. If he wanted to eliminate someone, it would be very simple—just look at Will Smith."
"That's true," Mel Gibson said, slightly dissatisfied but continued, "As long as it affects The Dark Knight's box office, that's fine. David, I suggest we compete with The Dark Knight this summer."
Currently, several of Sky Dance Studios' major projects were snatched from Gilbert. TRON: Legacy, with a $185 million budget, held particularly high expectations.
Others included Flyboys and John Carter, similarly huge-budget films.
However, the film Sky Dance Studios planned to release this year was the $180 million The Golden Compass, starring Nicole Kidman, officially set for August.
According to the original schedule, this film should have been released last year but failed. Hollywood's major companies faced cash shortages, not to mention second-tier studios like New Line Cinema.
This caused delays until David Ellison invested, officially launching The Golden Compass project, finally set to premiere this year.
David Ellison never underestimated Gilbert. He didn't believe an assault incident could affect The Dark Knight. Besides, the release schedule was already fixed; changing it now would be too late.
So David Ellison said, "We just follow the hype. If we try to move the release now, it would just make us Gilbert's target."
Mel Gibson was indeed more restrained than before. Fifteen years ago, he would have been shouting and fighting with Gilbert immediately. Clearly, years in prison had changed him somewhat.
The Christian Bale assault incident continued to be hyped, and every studio hoping for a summer hit joined in. But honestly, Christian Bale wasn't the only star with skeletons; many others had scandals.
For a time, Hollywood was filled with negative news about celebrities—assaults, exhibitionism, past relationships, multiple partners—all countless.
The public's nerves became extremely desensitized from all this gossip, lowering moral standards for Hollywood stars considerably.
To a certain extent, these negative reports did influence some fans' viewing choices. Most people in this country were actually conservative.
Only a small minority were open-minded, yet this minority made the most noise, leaving the majority silently enduring.
It was similar to later DEI initiatives—minorities creating huge waves while most normal people remained silent until they could no longer bear it.
But this incident wasn't that severe. With media coverage, Christian Bale's bizarre family became known to fans.
Many even praised him for hitting back, saying it was fitting for Batman. If it were them, they would have done the same.
Of course, some of this was driven by online operatives posing as ordinary users, playing the reasonable person role.
Gilbert's online team was undoubtedly the largest and most professional in the world, extremely skilled in manipulating public opinion.
Additionally, Gilbert controlled much of the online narrative, confident in his position as owner of the largest social network in the U.S.
When the assault incident was neutralized—or even seen as an act of justice—Christian Bale was safe.
He was extremely grateful; without Gilbert, the media would have hyped this for a long time. It wouldn't ruin his career, but it would have caused him trouble for a while.
The incident had barely passed when, on March 14, Marvel Studios' third film, Thor, officially hit North American theaters.
Gilbert attended the Thor premiere with Jennifer Connelly to support the film, though their appearance created a somewhat absurd impression for fans and media alike.
Everyone knew Gilbert was the head of Marvel Studios, but he was also the director of DC's Batman film, and Jennifer Connelly was a lead in that film.
Thus, seeing both at the Thor premiere felt almost like an absurd comedy.
A reporter asked Gilbert, "As the director of the Batman films, don't you feel a bit out of place here?"
Gilbert smiled, "Not at all. Whether DC or Marvel, this shows that superhero films are indeed thriving."
"Do you think Thor will surpass your The Dark Knight?"
"I think both are excellent films and can't really be compared. The important thing is to tell a good story to the audience."
Even though he said this, media coverage of the premiere inevitably linked The Dark Knight and Thor, starting comparisons between the two films.
The media always needed a topic, and even fans debated whether Gilbert's directed The Dark Knight was better or his produced Thor would be superior.
At the premiere, Gilbert also met the film's lead, Chris Hemsworth. This tall man, who had been a miner before acting in the film, expressed his gratitude to Gilbert, thanking him for the opportunity that allowed him to leave mining behind.
Then there was Tom Hiddleston. Although he had been chosen by director Kenneth Branagh, without Gilbert's approval, he wouldn't have been able to appear in the film.
Megan Fox, of course, didn't need introduction. Having defected from Michael Ovitz's circle, she had worried her career might be ruined.
Unexpectedly, she managed to land a role in such a major production.
Though she was mostly a decorative role and her salary wasn't high, it was still better than nothing!
..
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