American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 85 The Dung Must Be Splashed by Online Trolls

On the television, a Fox News host sat opposite a young man with a buzz cut, talking at length.

"Michael, your experience makes me a little sad. To be honest, I think you're a bit unlucky. You finally wrote a good story and then someone else bought it? That's... pretty unfortunate."

"Haha, I'm alright."

"But there's something about your experience that I don't understand. Can you help me figure it out?"

"Of course! You tell me!"

"Since your dream is to be a director, why didn't you go to Hollywood to seek investment in the first place? Why did you communicate with Endeavour Agency instead? The logic here... doesn't it seem a bit off?"

“Oh, you mean this? There are two reasons why I chose Endeavour instead of Hollywood. First, I had an agency contract with Endeavour, so when I had an idea, I went straight to Endeavour.”

"Okay, I understand that. You want Fenjin to help you attract investment. What's the second reason?"

"The second reason is that I don't think my story is that good. When I was looking for a project, I defined my script as a DV movie with a low budget, the kind that only needs a few hundred thousand or even tens of thousands of dollars to shoot. Because the whole story is very small and independent, it is not likely to attract the attention of Hollywood studios."

"But according to your account, it did eventually catch the attention of the production company, didn't it?"

"Uh... yes..."

"If that's the case, then you should make it yourself! Just like James Cameron held onto Terminator!"

"Oh—I've thought about that too, but it's unlikely—"

"why?"

"Because... the person who bought the script is more professional than me, so letting him direct it makes the project more likely to succeed."

"Okay, I understand. You want your script to have a good home."

"Yes, yes, you can understand it that way."

"Okay, Michael Arndt, you're a really great guy. It's great to have you here at Fox today. It's been a pleasure chatting with you... Wait a minute... a talent show movie? The production team is very professional? And you just said it was a huge success? Hmm... you're not talking about The Voice, are you?"

"No, no, no, how could the project I'm talking about be 'The Voice'? That's Isabella Heywood's work!"

"..."

Once home, Lana Draco immediately turned on the television and started searching for various TV channels.

She frantically used the replay function, spending a full half hour, before she was able to retrieve the program that the newsstand owner on the street had been watching.

That was a Fox News daytime interview, and today's topic was the current state of various industries under the war.

On the surface, what they were talking about seemed normal, and the first two guests on stage spoke very well. One of them was engaged in port trade, which was very relevant to the current international trade under the shadow of war, which is a major concern in society. The other was from the oil industry, and the impact of the US-Iran war on oil prices was closely related to everyone.

However, the third group consists of alumni of New York University.

And he's also a screenwriter in Hollywood.

To be honest, at first glance, there's nothing wrong with this kind of invitation.

If the current state of international trade affects people's living standards, since the stability of trade affects the prices of daily necessities, and the United States has long since moved low-end manufacturing out of the country, and fluctuations in oil prices directly affect people's travel, then the direction of the entertainment industry determines whether the entertainment that the public will see next will be interesting.

The problem is that the first two people were talking about real industries, while the third person was talking about himself.

This seems a bit off-topic.

Furthermore, this third party, Michael Arndt, kept playing cryptic games with the audience during the interview, seemingly trying to steer public attention towards the scripts he sold, which was something Lana Drei found most unacceptable.

After hearing Arndt's explanation, she felt she had already guessed the answer to the riddle, or rather, whether it was the Fox News host or the newsstand owner, they had already revealed the unspoken meaning—

Michael Arndt seems to want to announce to the whole world that the script he's selling is called "The Voice of the World"!
And this...

"Is this a rumor... or is it true?"

As the show ended, Lana Draco's eyes sparkled.

There's nothing we can do; she's a Coypu fan.
At this moment, Isabella is aware of everything she is showing to the outside world.

She knew that Isabella and her sister co-wrote the script for The Voice, that The Voice won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar this year, and that... there was discussion in society when these things happened.

Because the idea of ​​an 11 or 2-year-old girl writing a script seems absurd no matter how you look at it.

The reason why people haven't kept pressing the issue is mainly because no one has come forward to accuse them.

Furthermore, the film was directed by Chris Columbus.

Well, in the eyes of the general public, they believe that Columbus must have been involved in the creation of the script for "The Voice of China".

Even if Isabella and Columbus didn't say it, the public would think it was true.

As I said before, it's a bit too much of a genius for a teenage girl to write a screenplay all by herself.

However, even if the public subjectively believes that the script for "The Voice" was not written by Isabella alone, the public doesn't really care about such things, because ultimately, Isabella and Columbus's 'main job' is still making "Harry Potter".

"The Voice" was just a small dessert that they accidentally served up while making the "Harry Potter" feast.

When the main course, HP, is done well, the desserts are whatever you like, the general public doesn't really care.

Then, the conflict between Spielberg and Rowling became known to the world.

At the same time, people also know that Columbus was Spielberg's man, and Isabella was chosen by Rowling.

In this situation, if the two of them came up with a good project during their collaboration, and wanted to bring it to fruition but needed to avoid suspicion, wouldn't it be perfectly reasonable for them to erase all traces of their private collaboration during production?
Let's all give each other some face.

That's right~
Human beings are actually just like the badger in the melon patch~
My favorite thing to do is to chatter happily on the edge of the field after finishing eating a watermelon.
After Isabella won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, the public had already filled in all the speculations related to the event!

The public has already provided reasonable explanations!

but--

now--

Has someone come forward to suggest that there are copyright issues with "The Voice of China"?

What the hell is this?
Lana Draco sensed that something was wrong.

However, she couldn't pinpoint the specific abnormality for the time being.

So she decided to rewatch the program to search for clues—

The first review yielded no results;

Upon reviewing it a second time, I found nothing.
Just as she was about to watch it a third time, she suddenly realized how stupid she was.

She clearly has a computer at home, so why is she just staring blankly at the TV?
Why not just go online and see if anyone is discussing these things to find out if your guess is wrong?

I acted on my idea and logged onto Yahoo!, but there was no headline on the homepage.

Entering the entertainment section and taking a thorough look around, the huge page only contained celebrity scandals, feuds, and gossip; there were no attacks on Isabella, nor any discussions related to the script of "The Voice of China."

There are still discussions related to the variety show "The Voice of China".

Close Yahoo, then open MSN and AOL...

The almost identical content relieved Lana Draco.

At that moment, she realized that she might be being a little neurotic.

She felt that Fox just aired a normal program, and then the program unexpectedly mentioned Isabella.

The reason she was so sensitive and suspicious was mainly because she received a blessing from Miss Beaver today.

Looking down at the two little paws on her chest, the adorable little thing brought a smile to her face—

Since Miss Beaver can prepare gifts for all the contestants, and there are surprises for contestants celebrating their birthdays, how could the recipients possibly accept others' attacks and suspicions against Miss Beaver?
She will definitely protect the best, Miss Beaver!
When the idea came to her, Lana Draco felt a sense of clarity.

Just then, her phone rang again.

Pick up a can—

"Elizabeth, haven't you decided where to go yet? I've already made plans with everyone!"

Her friend's urging prompted Lana Draco to refresh the webpage again. After confirming there was nothing amiss, she put aside her suspicions and replied with a smile, "Oh—I just got home—"

"Why are you only just getting home? It's been three hours!"

"Because I took the bus today."

"What? Taking the bus? You? Wowwowwow—you, a pampered young lady, are starting to experience the hardships of ordinary people?"

"Oh dear, what are you saying! If you keep saying that, I'm going to get angry!"

"Okay, okay, where are we going to go? My friends are all waiting for your reply..."

With her playmates back online, Lana Draco officially celebrated her coming of age. While she was happily playing, a post quietly appeared in AOL's entertainment section—

Does anyone watch FOX's daytime interviews? Today's topic was really weird!

Yes.

"Indirect approach" was Michael Eisner's alternative strategy to achieve his goal indirectly.

Since Michael Arndt was unwilling to directly accuse Isabella, Eisner had no choice but to let him recount a true experience as a fact, and then hire online trolls to stir up trouble.

For example, like now.

As ambiguous news emerged, they personally stepped in to stir up trouble, since AOL is America Online.

And discussion threads have appeared on AOL?
That was done by Steve Case!

To be fair, in the future mobile internet era, using online trolls to attack people will be very common.

But to be honest, this approach is usually the last resort in smear campaigns.

There are two reasons:

1. Hiring online trolls is something that is easy to detect.

Using this kind of behavior to attack someone is no different from taking a knife and storming into a competitor's company to attack them.

Leaving aside the battles between industry giants, even in the Chinese entertainment industry, CCTV has compiled a list of celebrities who use online trolls.

It's easy to find.

2. No matter how strong an online army is, it can only be upgraded to a navy at most. Without a leader, it cannot destroy a brand.

To put it simply, in a smear campaign, if no well-known figure or party involved dares to take the lead and challenge the smear campaign, then even the biggest public opinion will be swept away by other storms.

It's like when a certain social issue can't exist, there's always a celebrity who'll step in to take the blame.

It is precisely because online attacks are indeed ineffective, and the core pursuit of capital is to kill instantly and decisively, that if I can cross provincial borders, I will not argue with you; if I can send your whole family to their deaths with a bomb, I will not let you live for more than a second.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, Eisner really doesn't want to engage in this underhanded tactic of stirring up trouble.

But there was no other way; when Arndt simply refused to die willingly, he could only resort to this desperate measure to cause trouble. And that was indeed the case—

After AOL took the initiative to set the stage, the script issues of "The Voice of China" quickly spread throughout the entire internet.

In just one hour, the news from AOL spread to Yahoo, IMDb, and other internet platforms.

In less than three hours, the term "The Voice of China script" topped the trending search lists on many websites.

Within about six hours, many internet platforms reposted FOX's program, putting FOX's interview clips on the main page of their entertainment sections. Although the 90-second video could not show the whole story, it was enough to set the tone.

Then, by the 22nd, the 24-hour escalation had made the "The Voice script" incident a hot topic of discussion among North American people. This trend even spread from online to offline, from AOL to CBS and NBC.

Many traditional media outlets have begun reporting on this event.

There's nothing we can do about it; Isabella is so famous, and The Voice of China is so popular.

The former needs no further explanation, the latter...

After Disney's massive spending spree, the fact that "The Voice" has already started is common knowledge in North America.

however--

Even though the "The Voice of China script" incident has come into the public eye.

Most of the reports and discussions are just that—discussions.

Or rather, it's an attack.

Because nobody believes the propaganda of the anti-good alliance.

As for the reason?

Very simple -

"Oh my god—this guy named Michael Arndt keeps implying that he wrote The Voice? Wow—where did this lunatic come from? Is there shit in his brain?"

"I think the Fox anchor has shit for brains! He guessed that Michael Arnes' script was for The Voice? What a ridiculous thought process! I really don't know how he came up with The Voice!"

"Exactly! Although we all think it's unlikely that Isabella wrote The Voice on her own, is it possible that Michael Arndt wrote The Voice? That's obviously impossible! Not to mention that Isabella has never been to the United States, even if she had, she wouldn't have bought the script from Michael Arndt! Because the director of The Voice is Chris Columbus! He started out as a screenwriter! With him around, why would Isabella buy the script from a complete stranger?"

"Exactly—especially since Michael Arndt wasn't famous yet—"

"Is this guy named Michael Arndt just here to ride on the coattails of others?"

"That's right! What kind of guess is that! It makes absolutely no sense!"

Yeah~
The reason the public doesn't believe in online trolls is because Chris Columbus is too powerful.

When someone's success has stood the test of time, do you really think you can smear "The Voice of China" just by relying on online trolls to stir up trouble?
The probability is very low.

If I had to describe it...

It's like two tons hitting eight tons.

People who are stubborn are either stupid or malicious.

Michael Eisner was somewhat disappointed by the downsides of breaking the opponent's moves.

Admittedly, he had anticipated the above situation, but who wouldn't want everything to develop in a positive direction?
However, even though the naval attack was not very effective, Eisner was not too discouraged.

Because his alternative plans also have follow-up...

Where is Arndt now?

After listening to his assistant's report, Eisner, who was playing golf, swung his club forcefully.

After ruthlessly pulling the ball out of his sight, his gaze finally fell on his assistant.

"My hometown in Virginia."

The assistant responded decisively.

Have our people gone there?

"Yes, I went this morning."

"Great, when can the message be sent?"

"Uh... if we're quick, we can get him done tonight and send it out tomorrow morning..."

Michael Eisner's money isn't so easy to get!
When he can offer 200 million for a lead attack on the tower, how could a slightly weaker, roundabout approach possibly be worth 300 million?

He quoted that price only to trick Arndt into telling the story, and then—

He would then have a way to force Arndt to attack Isabella!

Because at the end of the deal, his people and Arndt had a long conversation.

Those words were a clear indication to Arndt that I knew about his family's situation.

So, what is a person's first reaction when they discover that their loved ones are living under the watchful eyes of others?

Of course, I should go home and visit!
But once I get home...

I can then have reporters confront you in front of your family!

I can then have a reporter read out those public opinions in front of your family!

You might be able to tolerate the barrage of negative comments and attacks, but what about your family? Can they handle it too?
impossible!

They'll ask you what happened with concern. They'll worry about your situation! They'll want you to fight for yourself!

At that time, whether you want to work for me or not, you will become a knife in my hand!

However, just as Eisner was playing golf with a relaxed expression, waiting for his subordinates to bring good news that Michael Arndt had obediently complied, his assistant returned in less than half an hour.

At first, Eisner thought the matter was settled.

Arndt is a very filial son; when the media surrounded his parents, he immediately gave in.

But as soon as the assistant spoke, Eisner's smile vanished instantly.

"What did you say? Warner is going to hold a press conference?"

He stared at his assistant with a look of surprise.

"Yes." The assistant nodded vigorously.

"What is Warner trying to say?" Eisner asked, frowning. "Are you saying that all the current public opinion is malicious slander?"

"I don't know." The assistant shook his head decisively and said, "The message is that they want to respond to recent events."

"A response to recent events?" Eisner's forehead wrinkles deepened.

Because Warner's actions were illogical.

Currently, public opinion is favorable to Warner, so under normal circumstances, they don't need to respond. To put it more elegantly, it's called "justice will prevail," and to put it simply, it's easy to lose when things are going smoothly.

Since everyone believes in you, you can just lie there and accept their goodwill.

Should they step forward and hold a press conference?
What if I say the wrong thing?
Wouldn't that mean we'd lose if the dragon was charging right at us?
"No! I need to know the latest developments!"

Eisner glared at his assistant and asked, "Is there a live stream?"

"Have."

"where?"

“ABC”.

"when it start?"

“Uh… four o’clock in the afternoon…” the assistant glanced at the time on his watch and said, “Forty-seven minutes from now…”

Half an hour later, Eisner arrived at the golf club’s lounge right on time.

As the press conference began on time, a familiar figure appeared before Eisner.

That's Nathan Bailey.

Eisner knew this guy was Barry Mayer's assistant, so when he appeared, Eisner immediately labeled this impromptu press conference as a counterattack, because a normal clarification wouldn't require the chairman's assistant to appear.

And the counterattack...

"How does Warner plan to retaliate?"

Eisner's thoughts raced, then he fell into confusion, unable to think of a way for Warner to retaliate.

Because they're hiding in the shadows right now!
Warner Bros. can't just create targets out of thin air, can they?
Should we just say they did everything?
An attack without any preparation is very weak!
While he was pondering, Nathan Bailey spoke up: "Good afternoon to everyone here and watching on television. It's a pleasure to meet you all at this time... Due to some speculation and questioning from the public regarding our WarnerMedia collaborating artist Isabella Heywood in the past two days, WarnerMedia has decided to hold a press conference to address everyone's concerns..."

"First of all, we would like to say that Mr. Michael Arndt's script is indeed in our hands..."

boom--

When these words were spoken, a commotion immediately broke out at the press conference!
No one expected Warner would throw out a bombshell at the start of the press conference!

Do they have Michael Arndt's script?
Doesn't this blatantly tell everyone that what Michael Arndt said is true?
Is what Michael Arndt said true?

"So the story of 'The Voice' wasn't written by Isabella???"

At the press conference, one of the invited reporters shouted.

Faced with this question, Nathan Bailey smiled slightly, picked up the two scripts that had been prepared beforehand and placed on the table, and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the backup copy of the script written by Mr. Arndt."

"This one is the script for 'The Voice of the World'."

"I know many people have seen the movie 'The Voice' starring Isabella, but next, I would like to ask everyone to join me in comparing their similarities and differences from a script perspective."

Swah——

Before Nathan Bailey could finish speaking, Michael Eisner, who had been leaning back on the sofa, suddenly stood up!

"wrong!"

"Barry Mayer is not attacking me!"

"He wanted to help Isabella resolve the script issues for 'The Voice' at the lowest possible cost!"

“Oh——Sxxt——”

"That damn Michael Arndt!"

"He ruined all my preparations!!!"

(End of this chapter)