Far away in Los Angeles, in Michael Ovitz's CAA office, Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob were discussing business.
"'Interview with the Vampire' preparations are going smoothly; filming should begin soon," Martin Bob said. "Michael, you really should go see it. Tom and Brad are absolutely captivating. I believe many young women will be thrilled when the film is released."
The "Interview with the Vampire" project was specifically managed by Martin Bob, while Michael Ovitz controlled the overall situation from behind the scenes. Michael Ovitz didn't dwell on that project, instead bringing up another matter: "Martin, have you heard? 'Real Steel' has already begun filming."
"Oh? Has it? It seems Gilbert's preliminary preparations went very smoothly," Martin Bob said with a chuckle, as if unconcerned.
Michael Ovitz then added, "I heard a bull was injured during their filming." Michael Ovitz was constantly keeping an eye on "Real Steel." Although the crew repeatedly told the local extras to keep silent, with so many eyes and ears, information about the filming would inevitably leak out. Among these, the injury to Black Lightning caught Michael Ovitz's attention.
Martin Bob immediately understood Michael Ovitz's meaning: "I'm sure animal rights organizations wouldn't want to see any bull get hurt..." They exchanged a knowing glance, everything understood without words.
Black Lightning was indeed injured, but it was just a small scratch from a piece of Atom, nothing serious at all. It was a champion bull; it had endured all sorts of injuries, but it had never received attention from animal rights organizations. He never expected that just for nudging that immobile robot a few times with its horns and getting a minor injury, it would immediately become the focus of animal rights groups.
Upon receiving the news, an animal rights organization immediately sent people to the "Real Steel" filming location, posing as journalists to interview local residents about Black Lightning's condition. The local residents were excited to be interviewed, giving the animal rights people detailed accounts of Black Lightning's three consecutive championships and its recent participation in a film shoot. Of course, its injury history was also recounted to the person disguised as a reporter. In the eyes of the local residents, protection wasn't important; these past injuries simply proved that Black Lightning was a true champion bull.
The animal rights person disguised as a reporter wasn't angry after hearing this. Many people in animal rights organizations don't actually care about the animals themselves; they only care about their own interests. Without interest, who would speak up for a rural cow? Isn't it better to just slaughter it for meat?
After getting firsthand, detailed information, the animal rights person immediately rushed back to Los Angeles and quickly wrote an article criticizing "Real Steel" for harming the bull. They exaggerated, blaming all of Black Lightning's old injuries on "Real Steel." This article was then quickly published in multiple newspapers through the operations of CAA and the animal rights organization.
This became a huge deal. After the "Real Steel" crew returned to the Warner Bros. studio in Los Angeles, they were soon met by protesters incited by the animal rights organization. These people held up signs with slogans like "Protect the Bulls, Protect Humanity's Dearest Friends," shouting slogans and protesting outside the gates. Fortunately, officers from the Los Angeles Police Department arrived to maintain order, otherwise, these animal rights protesters might have stormed the Warner Bros. studio.
---
"What's going on? Why are there so many protesters outside?" Gilbert, hearing of the commotion, was momentarily confused.
Sophia Coppola went out to take a look and came back saying, "It seems like they're all from animal rights organizations, protesting us for mistreating Black Lightning."
"Mistreating Black Lightning?" If this were an anime, Gilbert would probably have three question marks floating over his head. "That crazy bull could probably take on a hundred of me! How could we mistreat it?"
Just then, Robert Iger, who had rushed over after hearing about the protest, handed Gilbert a newspaper and explained, "I heard a reporter went to your filming location for an interview and then wrote this report."
Gilbert frowned as he read the article, then slammed the newspaper on the table, cursing, "F! These unethical media reporters! We didn't do any of the things written here. This is malicious slander, malicious defamation!"
"Calm down first, Gilbert." Robert Iger signaled for Gilbert to calm down, then analyzed: "Someone is definitely behind this. Those animal rights people wouldn't care about these things without tangible benefits."
Assistant Anna Singer then received a call. After a few words, she hung up and reported, "Ms. Boone just called. She suspects CAA is behind this."
"CAA?" Gilbert's tight frown relaxed. "That's not surprising then. Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob are ambitious; they're planning to use 'Interview with the Vampire' to go against my new film. They've planned this in advance and have already made their move."
"So what do we do?" Sophia Coppola asked.
"What do we do?" Gilbert scoffed. "Do humans, who are willing to destroy their own kind, truly care about the lives of one or two animals? It's all just business."
"Are you saying, buy off the animal rights organization?"
"No," Gilbert shook his head. "Things are already like this. What animal rights organizations have done over the years has already displeased many people. We'll find people to protest their protests."
Robert Iger's eyes lit up: "Are you saying, an anti-animal rights organization?"
"Exactly," Gilbert said. "Humans are inherently selfish. Animal rights organizations started with good intentions. But the problem is, their protection of animals has surpassed that of humans themselves. How can humans, who consider themselves the rulers of Earth, accept this? If there isn't an anti-animal rights organization, we'll create one. If we don't teach those animal rights organizations a lesson, they'll think my temper is too good."
Gilbert's idea resonated with the psychology of most people and was very constructive. Robert Iger agreed wholeheartedly: "I'll contact Warner immediately, and we'll plan this together."
"By the way," Sophia Coppola also disliked these so-called animal rights organizations, and she offered a suggestion: "Many animal rights advocates eat meat, right? Let's get a private detective to investigate."
"That's a good idea! Claiming to protect animals, but secretly eating animal meat—if that's exposed, the animal rights organization's reputation will be ruined!" Robert Iger couldn't help but give a thumbs-up, laughing heartily.
"But what if they're all vegetarians?" Assistant Anna asked.
Gilbert's answer was quite humorous: "Aren't plants alive too? It's just that when you kill a plant, it doesn't scream."
"Haha, you're right!" Sophia Coppola burst out laughing. "We'll create a plant protection organization to protest the animal rights organizations for harming plants!"
"That's a great suggestion! Absolutely brilliant!"
The collective brainstorming quickly perfected the idea, and the resting area on set was soon filled with a joyful atmosphere. Gilbert's move was inspired by the "clash of jutsus" that would appear decades later: you say I harm animals, and I'll say you harm humans, and plants. In short, the goal was to drag them down from their moral high ground. Not only that, but he would then stand on that moral high ground himself and accuse them, making them experience the same feelings as those poor people they used to criticize.
---