The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Chapter 94 He is not suitable for our crew
The video was played again on the TV screen. Under the guidance of the host Megan, the two guests connected by video expressed their opinions.

"Based on the footage in the video, this is just an ordinary street conflict." The bald old white man Adams was the first to express his opinion: "The reason why it made the news and attracted people's attention is because the white man involved is Hollywood star Josh Hartnett."

Steve Nutt immediately said: "I disagree with this view. Did you hear what he said? Get lost, disgusting bastard. He saw that the person opposite was a black man, but he still said it. Maybe you would say it was just a common curse word, but look carefully at the subsequent scene."

The director thoughtfully changed the scene to the clip where Josh Hartnett blocked his nose and paused for the close-up.

From the picture, you can't see the canned herrings, and you can't taste the intoxicating stench.

Steve, who has transformed himself into an equal rights fighter and anti-discrimination pioneer, added: "What can you read from the look in Josh's eyes when he looked at the person he pushed down? The first thing I saw was disgust! Undisguised disgust! Looking at his actions, Josh blocked his nose. Could it be that even the other person's smell disgusted him?"

He also did some preparatory work, putting a picture of an old newspaper in front of the camera lens: "You know what this reminds me of? The slave owners in the 19th century, if you look at the preserved newspapers and pictures, this is how they viewed the slaves. It is a terrible history."

Adams countered: "They may have clashed for reasons we don't know about."

The disgusted look and actions on the screen were too obvious, so he couldn't lie with his eyes open, so he simply said: "Disgust caused by conflict is not discrimination."

"This is a kind of implicit discrimination." Steve said, "If it was a white person on the ground, would he have this expression? In fact, the most terrifying thing is precisely this kind of implicit discrimination..."

Of course, debates won’t produce any results; what the show wants is to generate buzz.

In a detached villa in Santa Monica, Spike Lee lit a cigar and picked up his phone to call his old friend Samuel Jackson: "Watch Channel 11's "Midnight Entertainment" as soon as possible. It's very interesting."

Samuel Jackson watched it for a short while before calling director Clark Johnson: "Director, hurry up and watch Midnight Entertainment on Channel 11."

Clark was watching, and his brow was furrowed.

If he had enough say in the crew, Josh Hartnett would be kicked out of the audition now.

In the eyes of black people, especially those who talk about equal rights all the time, not only swearing and conflict, but not giving special treatment is discrimination.

The show was over, Hawke turned off the TV in the reception room and came out with Caroline.

He said to Miss Mea, "You go first. Be sure to call Steve in a few minutes and ask him to be at the forefront tomorrow."

"Steve is being proactive now." Caroline walked away, clacking away in her red high heels, carrying her Hermès bag.

Not long after, Megan came out of the studio and came to Hawke and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

“I may have opened a Pandora’s box,” Hawke said.

Megan thought he was talking about the competition for roles: "The fighting behind the scenes in Hollywood is very fierce. If an actor wants to stand out, it means stepping on hundreds or even thousands of people in the same group by all means."

She felt something was wrong: "Why would you care about these things?"

Hawke smiled and said, "The Black Rights Movement."

"It's unstoppable." Megan looked out the window at the dark night. "I don't know about other places, but in California, the trend is unstoppable."

Hawke looked at Megan's short skirt, stockings and high heels: "Let's go to your house. I want to thank you for your help."

Megan said: "I still have to take my makeup off."

Hawke said, "No, this is good enough."

Megan went to the office to get her bag and took the elevator downstairs with Hawke.

The two got into Megan's BMW 7 and headed to Westwood together.

On the way, Megan's work phone kept vibrating, but she didn't answer any of the calls.

Hawke could guess the reason: "Every time there's a hot news broadcast, you get a lot of calls?"

Megan said: "At the beginning, I would still accept the calls. Those who used connections to ask for favors were okay, but some were just verbal abuse and threats. I exposed their scandals and black materials, and you can imagine how they felt."

Hawke drove onto West Olympic Boulevard: "As long as Fox is here, none of this will be a problem."

Megan nodded: "Fox is where my greatest confidence comes from."

At this time, Hawke's phone rang. It was Edward calling.

He said, "Boss, Johnson had a car accident on 17th Street. I took an exclusive video of the scene."

Hawke said directly: "Find a media outlet to sell it to. It can be published tomorrow."

Megan asked, "What happened?"

Hawke said simply, "The Savior filmed Johnson's car accident, and I told him to sell it somewhere."

Megan is not very interested in this kind of small news that cannot be made into an in-depth article.

…………

In Sherman Oaks, a Toyota raced down Ventura Boulevard.

Agent Will asked the PR manager in the passenger seat: "Juliet, is the call still not working?"

"No one answered Josh's phone." Julius called the landline again, and the same thing happened.

Will asked again, "What's going on at Fox 11?"

Jules hung up the phone that no one answered: "I called the show crew, but Megan Taylor had already left work. I called her phone again, but no one answered."

Will was very angry: "This bitch, relying on the support of Fox TV, actually messed with us, and didn't even say hello before messing with us."

Jules was helpless: "Fox has always been like this. Don't blame me for not reminding you. You can be critical of the matter, but never of the person."

She specifically reminded: "In the Miller Collins incident some time ago, the gang that had a close relationship with Miller directly attacked Megan. It seemed that they just scratched her car. As a result, Fox made a serious negotiation with the LAPD, and the entire Shorty Gang was uprooted. I heard that the leader of the Shorty Gang had a broken neck bone and was ruled to have committed suicide."

Will understood clearly: "Fox TV Network is giving a warning, and also giving confidence and encouragement to all Fox people."

Toyota came to a small villa. Will rang the doorbell but no one answered. He took out the key, opened the door, and called Julis to go in with him.

As soon as I entered the villa, I heard deafening snoring.

Josh Hartnett was sleeping like a dead pig on the sofa, and the smell of alcohol filled the whole room.

Jules went to open the window.

Will called for a long time before waking him up, and then helped the drunk Josh Hartnett into the bathroom.

After nearly an hour of struggling, Josh Hartnett was finally able to speak clearly.

Will quickly recounted the report from Midnight Entertainment.

"No, it's not what they reported at all." Josh Hartnett described what happened outside the bar and said bitterly: "I hate that bastard very much, to the extreme, but I didn't say anything racist."

Jules quickly corrected him: "Remember, you don't hate him, it's just a verbal conflict, you don't have any other thoughts."

Will frowned: "This is not normal." He asked: "Have you offended anyone recently?"

Josh Hartnett shook his head: "No."

Jules reminded: "Are you having a conflict of interest with someone?"

“Competing for a role.” Will recalled the audition for SWAT. “Josh and I got a call from Kevin Spacey, who warned us to give up the audition.”

Josh was surprised: "Is it him?"

Will thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to say. If this was planned by someone, your competitors could be Dwayne Johnson, Colin Farrell, and Jeremy Renner."

Josh is also well-informed: "Competition in Hollywood has become so fierce!"

Just as he finished speaking, Jules's cell phone rang. She answered it and asked a few questions with a hint of shock on her face. After hanging up, she came over and said, "I just got the news that Dwayne Johnson had a car accident on 17th Street."

Josh was stunned.

Will was also stunned.

Jules elaborated: "An SUV suddenly broke down and hit Johnson's Ford Mustang. Johnson was concentrating and dodged. The SUV that was originally heading for the carriage only hit the rear of the Ford Mustang."

Josh muttered, “Is this still Hollywood?”

Will is also a veteran agent, so he is not surprised: "Business competition is all about doing anything. For the male lead of 'S.W.A.T.', not to mention the fame and business development after success, the salary alone is nearly 10 million US dollars."

Josh was frightened, sweating, and sobering up: "I had an accident, Johnson had a car accident, and this incident was most likely caused by Colin Farrell."

Will thinks so too: "Jeremy Renner is a newcomer and lacks competitiveness. Kevin Spacey has threatened us."

Josh pounded the sofa hard: “These bastards!”

"Hey, hey, guys, this is not the most important thing right now." Julie reminded: "Josh needs to clarify as soon as possible that he is not a racist, otherwise there will be countless troubles."

Will also returned to the imminent matter: "We will accept a joint interview with the media tomorrow to clarify the matter first, and then find the person involved as soon as possible."

He asked, "Do you remember the guys? Do you remember the car?"

Josh said, “I seem to remember the license plate number.”

He reported the license plate number, and Will asked someone to check it overnight, but was disappointed by the result: "The license plate number is fake."

Jules said: "It's impossible to find the person in the short term. Simply clarifying the situation may not be effective. Although Hollywood is controlled by old white men, discrimination against black people cannot be exposed. In order to take care of black consumers, actors involved in racial discrimination will encounter various troubles." Will agreed: "Josh, you must get rid of this trouble as soon as possible."

"What should I do?" Josh looked at the PR manager. "I can't find a black woman to lick my ass, can I?"

This reminded Julius, and she thought of Steve Nutter who appeared on the show, and a brilliant idea popped into her mind.

She grabbed Josh's shoulders and said, "Find a black girlfriend as soon as possible and show your love everywhere."

Will responded: "Finding an ordinary black girl won't work well. It's better to find a black actress with some fame."

Josh looked at his agent, then at his public relations manager, and said, "You know, I have a girlfriend. Ellen and I have been dating for eight years."

Julius said: "I will communicate with Ellen, she will understand you."

Josh knew very well that the so-called understanding was breaking up.

Will knew Josh better and said, "How much have you paid to achieve what you have today? Are you going to give up like this? Then what about all the efforts you have made?"

Josh grabbed his hair with both hands: “Give me some time, give me some time.”

Will calls Jules out.

One of them contacted the media while the other looked for a suitable black woman.

…………

Morning, North Hollywood.

A Wrangler drove up to the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP.

Steve Nutt got out of the car, took out the manuscript Caroline wrote for him, quickly read it while walking, and went straight to the meeting room.

Spike Lee immediately stood up and gave the first place to Steve, the pioneer and mascot they needed most.

There were a dozen white and black people sitting in the conference room.

Steve picked up a copy of the National Enquirer on the table and pointed to Josh Hartnett on the front page. "I'm sure everyone knows what happened last night. A Hollywood star made such a discriminatory move without caring about his own influence. We cannot tolerate it."

Everyone present spoke up.

"This must not happen!"

“We have to respond.”

Steve pressed his hands down, with a leadership posture: "Brothers, the opponent is a movie star, occupying an important propaganda position in Hollywood, which will have a huge social impact. We must fight against him and tell everyone our unity and strength!"

He said loudly: "Let's organize people, go to Josh Hartnett's event, go to the door of his agency, go to the door of his crew, and sit in protest to let people know the attitude of our black brothers!"

Spike Lee said: "I agree."

The others responded one after another.

"Agree!"

"Agree!"

Large numbers of blacks and whites organized themselves at a breakneck speed.

Black people do have their own unique way of crying and screaming, and they are much more efficient than other ethnic minorities such as Mexicans.

Moreover, black people have infiltrated many industries, not to mention white leftists.

The assembly should be reported as quickly as possible.

Not long after, the NAACP received news that Josh Hartnett was holding a press conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

At Steve's suggestion, the protesters split into two groups.

Some went to the Hilton Hotel.

Another group drove to the "S.W.A.T." studio in Culver City to protest the crew's use of a racist as the leading actor.

Half an hour later, dozens of white and black people arrived at the entrance of the Hilton Hotel, holding up banners, posters and other materials, and instantly became the coolest guys in the area.

Reporters who were originally attending the press conference stopped at the door to take pictures.

A little later, Caroline's assistant Sasha and the firefighter fund manager Green, whom she had met once, drove past here.

The latter sent the former to Century City and bought some special desserts nearby.

Sasha looked towards the hotel entrance: "Is there any activity going on over there? It seems like someone is protesting."

Green also took the time to look at the huge banner that read Josh Hartnett and discrimination against black people.

This reminded him of a project he had business dealings with.

Passing by a newsstand, Green stopped the car and asked Sasha to help buy a few newspapers.

After sending Sasha to Century City, he took the newspapers and read them. Most of them contained negative reports about Josh Hartnett.

Last night, Josh Hartnett was suspected of racially abusing a black man.

Green called Sasha, started the car and rushed to Culver City.

…………

Outside the "S.W.A.T." studio near Sony Columbia Studios.

Hawke parked the car in the shade of a building, took out a bottle of water from the door storage compartment and handed it to Caroline in the passenger seat.

The latter pointed to the studio door and said, "They are coming."

Hawke saw a minibus and two large American vans parked on the roadside ahead, and dozens of white leftists and black people got off one after another.

These people are very professional. They took out the prepared materials, installed them quickly, and pulled it up.

They just sat on the sidewalk outside the studio and didn't do anything radical.

It is obvious at first glance that he is a professional veteran in the protest business.

Caroline answered the phone and said to Hawke, "Green, the business manager of the third-party guarantee, is here."

Hawke reminded: "You should treat your assistant to a nice meal."

Caroline curled her lips and smiled: "I will give her a bonus for this kind of thing. I will not feel at ease if I don't give her money."

Hawke saw a car parked at the studio and said, "Here comes the director Clark Johnson."

Clark got out of the car, glanced at the black men sitting quietly at the door, his expression became extremely serious, and he quickly walked into the studio, went up to the second floor and went straight to the producer's office.

Leonard Goldenberg was standing at the window, looking at the crowd outside. When he saw him come in, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

Clark nodded and said, "I personally suggest that Josh Hartnett's final audition invitation be canceled. The crew is cooperating with racists, which has a very bad impact."

Leonard's assistant Teddy spoke for Josh in front of him many times.

The older producer valued this assistant very much, raised his hand to stop Clark, and said, "I will seriously consider this matter."

Clark only had the right to make suggestions, and said in a gnashing voice: "Please respect my feelings."

Leonard nodded slightly.

Clark had no choice but to leave.

Leonard was also a little hesitant and sat in his office to think about it.

From a risk control perspective, giving up Josh Hartnett is the wisest choice. The crew has not yet invested resources in him and there is no sunk cost.

But he is old, and a lot of specific work has to be done by Teddy, and his opinions must be respected appropriately.

After a long time, when Leonard was drowsy, someone knocked on the office door from outside.

Green, the business manager from the Firemen's Fund Insurance Company, walked in.

Leonard perked up: "What a rare guest."

Green smiled politely and said, "The crew may incur huge risks. I can only make one trip."

Leonard understood immediately: "Josh Hartnett's story?"

Green said directly: "If a racist plays the leading role, it will drag down the reputation of the crew, affect the credit of the crew, cause difficulties in financing, and increase the risk of third-party guarantees."

He pointed toward the window: "There's no way an insurance company would cover the cost of insuring a racist."

It would be fine if the director objected, but now the insurance company also objects, Leonard has to think carefully.

He was silent for a moment, picked up the phone and dialed a number: "Please inform Josh Hartnett's agent that Josh Hartnett is not suitable to appear in our crew."

(End of this chapter)