The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Facing Hawke, Tom Cruise talked about some of his current troubles.

Since the end of this year's Oscars, there have been many extremely unfriendly, even critical and abusive voices in the media towards Tom Cruise.

Among them, Nicole Kidman is the most active.

An ex-wife is a creature with enormous destructive power, and can kill her ex-husband to pieces.

About a month ago, when Nicole Kidman posted her Oscar for Best Actress trophy on Twitter, she also posted a photo of her celebrating wildly on the street after her divorce.

Its purpose can be imagined.

From formal entertainment media to street gossip tabloids and then to the Internet, there are endless reports praising Nicole Kidman for kicking Tom Cruise out and living her true self, while also using this as an excuse to criticize Tom Cruise.

On the one hand, there are people behind the scenes who are in charge and act as liaisons; on the other hand, when a star encounters problems, the media definitely does not think of giving him a chance, but instead rushes in and crushes him to death, so that there will be a sensational effect.

The last time Hawke met Tom Cruise, the latter thought they were just minor inconveniences, but as time went on, he only felt they were becoming more and more troublesome.

Tom Cruise said: "These have affected my reputation. I was going to work with Spielberg on a super science fiction project, 'War of the Worlds'. The talks were going very smoothly, but now Spielberg and DreamWorks have backed off a bit and the negotiations have been put on hold."

"I've read some of your news." Hawke pondered and said, "Before the Oscars and after the Oscars are completely different things."

Tom Cruise said directly: "After the Oscars, I fired my former agent Pat Kingsley. CAA adopts a large client agent co-management model. Kingsley was the founder and senior partner of PMK Public Relations, so she also served as my public relations agent, which is equivalent to a public relations manager."

Hawke thought for a moment and asked, "Are you planning to leave CAA?"

"In fact, leaving CAA is inevitable. My contract with them is about to expire." Tom Cruise forced a smile: "This is also one of the reasons why things are not going well. CAA will not waste resources on a client who is about to leave."

He added: "Since I turned against Pat Kingsley, these troubles have come one after another. My people have found out that it is directly related to her. She used the media resources accumulated over the years, the influence of CAA, and the eagerness of those media to blacken me to instigate all this."

Hawke said: "She also teamed up with your ex-wife, and your ex-wife knew too much of your privacy."

Tom Cruise couldn't deny it, saying, "I can't help it. She knows me too well."

It is impossible to tell who is right and who is wrong in this former couple.

But there is no doubt about one thing, without Tom Cruise's resources, there would definitely not be Nicole Kidman today.

Ten years of youth are exchanged for a top Hollywood star. It is difficult for outsiders to judge who suffers and who gains.

Tom Cruise said: "The current situation is that Nicole Kidman accuses me of controlling her life, manipulating her beliefs, and restricting her most basic freedoms. In the media reports about her, I have become a complete villain, a super-demon type."

Hawke nodded: "I have seen it."

Tom Cruise continued: "And those news reports that attacked me for having deviant beliefs, being a homosexual, and taking a lot of drugs on a daily basis were all directed by Pat Kingsley behind the scenes."

This time he came to Hawke with a very clear goal: "Help me solve the problem of the troublemaker and change the public opinion environment."

Hawke first needs to ask clearly: "The ultimate goal is to change the public opinion environment, right?"

Tom Cruise smiled and said, "Yes."

Hawke was silent for a moment, then said directly: "From what you have described and what I have learned, if I were to do this, this work would need to be divided into three parts."

"Please go ahead." Tom Cruise fully believes in Hawke's ability.

Hawke said roughly: "First, solve the people and things that cause you trouble; second, reduce the negative news about yourself and do a series of things to change public opinion. Now media opinion is not only controlled by those traditional paper media."

Tom Cruise immediately followed up: "And your Twitter."

Hawke was quite confident: "In terms of individual audiences, Twitter is no less than any mainstream media in North America."

Tom Cruise has been following the Smiths incident and Bryant's Eagle County scandal, and fully agrees with Hawke's statement.

Especially in the Eagle County incident, Twitter, with its strong timeliness and network influence, has led all media by the nose and completely guided the direction of public opinion.

Hawke continued: "Another point is that as long as your commercial value is high enough, these are minor problems that will soon pass. Maintain your achievements in movies and achieve greater success.

Tom Cruise also understands this: "The current situation is that the first two points have affected the latter, and they are still affecting them continuously."

Hawke nodded: "Well, let's start with one thing. The problem comes from two women, Nicole Kidman and Pat Kingsley."

"Yes!" Tom Cruise didn't have a big opinion about these two people, but he hated them: "To eliminate them, we must first deal with them."

Hawke said seriously: "Nicole Kidman had better not move. Anything bad that happens to her will become an excuse for her to attack you. Now that she has the Oscar trophy, as long as she keeps attacking you, she will gain huge media traffic and make herself extremely popular."

He analyzed: "If we attack Nicole Kidman directly, what will happen? She is a woman. In today's society, especially in Los Angeles, California, women are not only treated preferentially, but women like her who shout slogans of freedom and independence are privileged. Attacking her will only lead to crazy counterattacks from women's organizations and liberal media." Tom Cruise is not naive to be where he is today. He agreed: "Once these organizations openly protest, Hollywood will be affected, and my reputation will plummet."

"So, our target is Pat Kingsley." Hawke has heard of this woman to some extent: "She has been working closely with Nicole Kidman, and she is the mastermind behind the scenes, not a sensitive public figure. If we can suppress her with tough measures, Nicole Kidman will be much more stable because she can't stand the revelations."

He looked at Tom Cruise and said, "This time Nicole Kidman won the Best Actress award. Harvey Weinstein played a big role in that."

Tom Cruise's emotions fluctuated slightly, but he still said, "Just as the outside world imagines, that fat guy has no actual benefits, so how can he possibly support someone to win an award? And what he wants is well known to everyone in the industry."

Hawke nodded: "Then our primary target is Pat Kingsley." He emphasized, "Tommy, this is our first official cooperation, and I must remind you that I am good at using unconventional means."

Tom Cruise responded: "These are not problems."

Hawke said: "There is no problem in this regard, we have the basis for cooperation."

Tom Cruise then asked, "What about the next stage?"

"You have to give me some time." Hawke smiled and said, "I need to think of a mature plan."

Tom Cruise opened his hands: "No problem, my friend." He changed the subject: "PR fees? You name a price."

Hawke was not polite either: "During the Eagle County incident, Kobe Bryant hired me as his public relations manager for $300 million. You are my friend..."

Tom Cruise is not short of money. He has more influence than Kobe and his wife, and is more generous. He said directly: "350 million US dollars, other than this money, all other additional expenses are mine."

Being quick in doing things makes people feel happy and motivated. Hawke nodded and said, "Okay, come to my company tomorrow and we will formally sign an agreement."

Tom Cruise said, "See you tomorrow morning then."

Hawke added, "You come quietly and keep it a secret. The other party is not an ordinary person. We'd better strike a fatal blow before attracting her attention and not give her any chance to fight back."

Tom Cruise responded: "No problem."

Hawke stood up and shook his hand.

The two men left the reception room one after the other, and Tom Cruise met up with the driver and left first.

Hawke called Edward and drove back to the company in a Mercedes.

Erica is in Woodland Hills tonight to be with her grandparents and will not be coming to Santa Monica.

Hawke simply went to sleep in the company.

On the way, he said to Edward, "Tomorrow, after I sign the contract with Tom Cruise, you go and inform Campos and let him know about the situation of Tom Cruise's former agent and public relations manager Pat Kingsley."

Edward understood immediately: "Are you focusing on those things that are not allowed to be seen in public?"

"That's right." If Hawke were to fight someone who has been deeply rooted in the industry for decades in the traditional Hollywood and media areas, his chances of winning would not be great.

He thought for a moment: "Not only her, but also the people around her."

Edward replied, "Understood." He also reminded Hawke, "Boss, we have a veteran tool man here, have you forgotten? He may know more."

Hawke remembered: "Frank? I haven't seen him recently."

Edward said, "This guy is living a carefree life. He recently borrowed a company car to get Miss Mee's signature and went camping with an old friend. It will probably take some time for him to come back."

Hawke said no more, went back to the company, went upstairs, went to the office and checked the Internet. He found that "Dark Night Journey" had a good reputation online.

"I watch it as a cool movie. It's very relaxing and comfortable."

"Where did this director come from? I've never heard of him before. The film is very well shot, with twists and turns, and every aspect is good."

"No one is paying attention to the hero's daughter? She's so flirty!"

Hawke personally feels that this film should be able to make money.

The next morning, Tom Cruise and his lawyer secretly came to Twitter and formally signed a public relations and business strategy planning agreement with West Coast Studios.

The two men signed the contract and shook hands.

Tom Cruise was very happy and directly had $350 million transferred to the account of the West Coast studio.

Who doesn't like such a customer? (End of this chapter)