Gilbert's victory in the TV debate helped many Hollywood film crews significantly. Among them was The Shawshank Redemption.
This film was being shot smoothly until the animal protection organization, from who knows where, heard that the crew was going to film a scene where a bird eats a worm. They immediately protested, claiming the crew was harming a worm. Due to the long-standing influence of the animal protection organization, The Shawshank Redemption crew had to go to great lengths to protect this worm. Not only did they have to constantly watch the worm to prevent it from being eaten by a bird, but they also assigned a doctor to the worm and built a special resting place for it.
Morgan Freeman, one of the lead actors, complained, "This worm lives better than a human." When the animal protection organization found out about this comment, they protested again. Morgan Freeman had to apologize and donate $100,000 to the organization before they left him alone.
Who would've thought that right after he made the donation, Gilbert would get into a public argument with the animal protection organization, even appearing on a TV show? Morgan Freeman watched the entire program and, seeing Gilbert's triumphant victory, couldn't help but open a bottle of red wine to celebrate.
The next day, the animal protection organization once again sent people to supervise the crew, to prevent them from harming the worm. However, the people from the animal protection organization were promptly kicked out by The Shawshank Redemption's producer and director.
The animal protection organization had never been treated with such disrespect and immediately threatened the crew, saying they would protest if things didn't change. The director stood firm: "Your hypocritical masks have long been torn off by Director Gilbert. We will absolutely not accept such unreasonable coercion." The producer added, "We will consult with our lawyers and pursue legal action against the animal protection organization for extortion against our crew."
The animal protection organization's people were bewildered by the crew's sudden tough stance and, for a moment, had no choice but to retreat.
Morgan Freeman became increasingly angry the more he thought about it. So, after that "noble" worm finished its scene, Morgan Freeman threw it on the ground and stomped it to death with his leather shoe. He even deliberately rolled his shoe back and forth several times to ensure the damn worm was turned into a messy pulp. Later, when the director asked where the worm had gone, Morgan Freeman calmly clapped his hands and said, "I accidentally stepped on it." The director glanced at Morgan Freeman and instantly understood what had happened. Not to mention Morgan Freeman, even the director himself wanted to find the worm just to vent his frustration.
Similar changes weren't just happening on The Shawshank Redemption set; they were occurring on other sets with animal actors as well. The animal protection organization suddenly discovered that after losing the TV debate, Hollywood had changed overnight. Film crews that used to be subservient and terrified of their protests suddenly became defiant.
The most direct impact of this defiant attitude was a significant drop in donations received by the animal protection organization. This meant that the animal protection organization's interests were severely damaged. All of these changes were brought about by Gilbert, and the animal protection organization consequently came to hate him.
Before Gilbert, the animal protection organization had a rather pleasant existence. Under the guise of protecting animals, they extorted major Hollywood film crews and other industries, always succeeding. But it was Gilbert who peeled back the animal protection organization's brutal facade, exposing it to the public. He dragged them down from their moral high ground, so they could no longer arbitrarily criticize others based on morality.
Some senior members of the animal protection organization even considered hiring assassins to arrange a "suicide" for Gilbert, with eight bullet wounds in his back. However, it was unfortunate that even though Gilbert was just a director, he was a director watched nationwide, and he was also a "squid" (a term likely referring to a powerful or influential person, possibly of Jewish descent, given the context of "squids"). The animal protection organization had already experienced how troublesome "squids" could be. Furthermore, the major financial backers behind the animal protection organization were themselves "squids," and doing such a thing would absolutely lead to retaliation.
Now, unable to win arguments and unable to use physical means to eliminate him, the animal protection organization was frustrated. This vendetta had to be avenged; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to operate in the future.
At this point, debate expert Jack Wells made a suggestion to the animal protection organization. Thinking for the organization, he came up with a plan: if they couldn't get revenge on Gilbert, they could get revenge on Michael Ovitz! The animal protection organization agreed. After all, Michael Ovitz initiated this whole thing, and their misfortune was because of him, so they might as well target him.
Consequently, the protestors who were originally protesting the Real Steel crew quickly moved to the CAA office building to protest Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob. This unexpected attack, like an "immortal from outside the sky," completely humiliated Michael Ovitz.
Michael Ovitz was no pushover. He immediately adopted Gilbert's tactics and started arguing with the animal protection organization. Driven to desperation, the enraged animal protection organization directly exposed Michael Ovitz's role in orchestrating the protests about alleged cattle abuse. Not only that, all the shady dealings Michael Ovitz had collaborated on with the animal protection organization in the past were suddenly revealed. The animal protection organization felt that since their reputation was already ruined anyway, they might as well take someone down with them. And so, Michael Ovitz became that collateral damage.
Suddenly, the American public was feasting on gossip from newspapers and television. Media outlets owned by Disney and Warner extensively hyped the story, portraying the dealings between Michael Ovitz and the animal protection organization as two greedy devils making a pact. Michael Ovitz never imagined that this boomerang would eventually hit him. If he had known Gilbert was so articulate, why would he have orchestrated such a thing in the first place?!
The debate between Gilbert and the animal protection organization, the animal protection organization's misfortune, and then the mutual mudslinging with CAA were continuously hyped for two to three months. Finally, Michael Ovitz couldn't take it anymore. He publicly apologized to the media and then resigned from his position as CAA president, taking the blame. His successor was Martin Bob.
However, Martin Bob's position was also unstable because CAA's internal staff were displeased with the roles he and Michael Ovitz played in this crisis. Pat Kingsley and Eno Martin began to rally support, planning to oust Martin Bob. One had Tom Cruise, and the other had Tom Hanks, who had just gained recognition from audiences with Sleepless in Seattle. Both were ambitious and not at all afraid of the new CAA president, Martin Bob.
A CAA embroiled in internal strife would undoubtedly serve Gilbert's interests, preventing CAA from causing him trouble. However, he was still curious whether Michael Eisner would still be interested in inviting his longtime friend Michael Ovitz to become Disney's president after all this. He also wondered how Michael Ovitz would feel facing him, given his close collaboration with Disney. After all, in a sense, he was the primary cause of Ovitz's downfall.
Gilbert stopped paying attention to the subsequent events. After winning the TV debate, Gilbert returned to the set and focused on filming. The crew members were noticeably more respectful than before; clearly, the director's powerful verbal skills had intimidated them all. Even lead actor Bruce Willis, who used to haggle with Gilbert about acting choices, now performed exactly as Gilbert instructed, not daring to offer any other opinions. He was afraid too, afraid that Gilbert would scold him relentlessly.
Gilbert noticed the crew's reactions and found them somewhat amusing yet frustrating. He wasn't a chihuahua, barking at everyone he saw. As long as no one bothered him, his temper was quite good! Unfortunately, no one would believe him if he said that.
Now, outside media were already spreading news of Gilbert's performance on set. After "Prince of Horror Films" and "Explosion Maniac," his third nickname, "Momus of the Set," was born. In Greek mythology, Momus is the personification of mockery, blame, and satire, as well as the patron god of writers and poets, known for his penchant for condemnation and slander. In classical art, he is often depicted as a highly venomous person wearing a mocking mask. This image certainly aligned with the impression Gilbert had left on the outside world.
---