America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 389 A Huge Scandal

As the new week begins, Hollywood is as bustling as ever, with gossip and scandals emerging one after another.

However, there was one particular piece of gossip that first appeared on the TMZ website and was subsequently reprinted by numerous social, IT, and entertainment newspapers and websites.

Kim Kardashian, through her spokesperson, released an email that was sent by an unknown hacker.

The alleged hacker notified Kim Kardashian via email that he had recently hacked into her computer, found some interesting things, and stolen a copy. He also told her that if she didn't want these things to be exposed, she should transfer $30 to the account he provided in the email when he notified her again.

Along with the email came a screenshot of a video, in which Kim Kardashian, wearing less than a pair of socks, was waiting for something in a very seductive manner, with a hairy leg peeking out from the side.

An experienced driver can easily guess what's going to happen next.

Screenshots of photos and emails spread rapidly through newspapers and the internet.

Because of her exploitation of Paris Hilton back then, Kim is considered a celebrity.

The fact that a socialite's video was stolen by hackers and that she was then blackmailed, with photographic evidence, immediately piqued the interest and curiosity of the public.

A surge of public sentiment has emerged on the internet.

"Where's the video? We need the video!"

"Where's that idiot hacker? You can't extort money without video evidence!"

"Having pictures but no videos is the same as having nothing."

"We're crowdfunding to strongly demand that the hackers release the video."

In Davis's studio, Bruce pushed open the door and entered Martin's office, where he saw Martin sitting in front of his computer, engrossed in eating melons.

Martin looked up and gave Bruce a thumbs-up: "Quick action, huh?"

"The impact is much greater than expected," Bruce said, reporting on the latest developments. "The press conference is ready and will be held this afternoon."

Bruce had nothing but praise for Martin, so Martin took this matter quite seriously, specifically saying, "At the press conference, Kim not only needs to cry, but also needs to show her independence and mental strength as a woman, declaring war on crime like a warrior."

"You're a good person, so go all the way." Bruce rarely asked Martin for favors, so this was a rare occasion for him to speak up.

Martin thought for a moment and said, "Here's what you'll do: write this down and then repeat it to Kim's professional PR person so she can use this approach when delivering her PR lines."

Bruce, afraid he wouldn't remember it well, quickly grabbed a pen and notebook.

Martin drew inspiration from Julie and Aniston's approaches to things, using their possible explanations for similar situations as a template, and then proceeded to write a lengthy and thoughtful speech.

Bruce wrote it all down.

After Martin finished speaking, he waved his hand and said, "You go ahead and do your thing. I'm going to find Leo and Jack and we can have some fun together."

"This melon won't disappoint you." Bruce strode out.

Martin added, "You can have Kim's people contact TMZ and Jenna's company separately, cut out a short clip to sell as a trailer to TMZ, and sell the rest to Jenna's company. Once there's enough hype, release the DVD and videotapes, and it's sure to be a huge hit."

Bruce stopped, turned to look at his old friend, and said with genuine admiration, "Martin, your success in Hollywood is no accident."

Martin casually remarked, "It's mainly for you. I'm counting on you to take a bullet for me."

Bruce laughed, said nothing more, strode out of the office, went downstairs, got in his car, and headed straight for the satellite city of Venice.

Martin also left the company, drove an ordinary Volkswagen, and quietly entered Nicholson's house.

Nicholson said he had prepared a lavish lunch for him and Leonardo.

Martin entered the living room and found that, in addition to Nicholson, there was a pretty blonde girl who looked to be no more than eighteen years old.

"This is..." He felt like he had seen it somewhere before.

Nicholson said, "My daughter, Lorraine."

Martin remembered seeing this girl in several group photos taken in this living room.

Lorraine greeted Martin warmly and confidently: "Hello, Martin."

"Hello, Lorraine, you're a beautiful angel." Martin glanced at Nicholson deliberately. "You're a hundred times more handsome than your father."

Lorraine smiled and said, "I think so too."

Martin continued to provoke Nicholson: "Why do ugly men have angelic daughters?"

Nicholson said, "Your future children will definitely not be as good-looking as my children."

Lorraine knew about her father's cronies and didn't want to get involved in their vulgar conversation, so she said, "I'll go check on the kitchen."

Martin said, "Go ahead."

Lorraine left the living room.

Martin glanced over there.

Before he could speak, Nicholson said, "My daughter is beautiful, isn't she? And she has a good personality too. If you're willing to settle down, I might consider letting her marry you."

This guy was always unserious and indiscriminate in his tastes, so Martin didn't take him seriously at all. He deliberately put on a heartbroken look: "Jack, I never thought you were this kind of person!"

"Who is Jack?" Leonardo asked as he entered the living room from outside.

Martin pointed at Nicholson and angrily shouted, "I treated you like a brother, the eldest of the trio, and what did you do? You wanted to be my father-in-law! Are you even human?!"

Leonardo immediately joined Martin's side: "Jack, you're such a jerk! Even if we three don't care about these things, you can't just throw that stinky stuff of love into our pure male friendship!"

Nicholson shook his head: "You two bastards are hopeless. I hope you never get married."

Martin gladly accepted: "Thank you for your blessing."

Leonardo said, "Come on, Martin, let's go to Jack's wine cellar and pick out some good wine."

Martin followed him to the basement, picked out two bottles of fine wine and brought them up. Lorraine then directed the servants to place the seafood feast prepared by the chef in the dining room.

Nicholson told the two to sit wherever they liked.

Lorraine, however, had to take her leave.

Leonardo asked, "Aren't you going to eat before you leave?"

Lorraine said, "I won't bother you any longer."

Nicholson waved his hand: "Go on, go on." Before his daughter left, he added, "You can only withdraw funds from your fund account when you turn 21. Don't bother me until then."

Lorraine waved and left.

Martin said, "You need to be nicer. You don't express love in such a harsh way."

Nicholson dismissed the servant and said, "You talk as if you've ever had a child."

Martin was speechless.

Leonardo DiCaprio, however, said, "That's called 'no father and daughter without enmity'."

"You haven't even had a chance to enjoy this kind of trouble yet," Nicholson changed the subject. "I saw on the news that you and Bale had a fight on set? What's the situation with Bale?"

Martin pointed to his head: "He's been stimulated here. He can't see me or the Joker right now, or he might go crazy."

Leonardo said with some regret, "Jack, we should have stayed in Atlanta a few more days."

"Bale is finished," Nicholson said thoughtfully. "What about Blanchett?"

Leonardo asked, "Isn't she your favorite?"

Nicholson, thick-skinned as ever, said: "It's just unrequited love."

Martin said, "Blancette wants to compete for the female lead in David Fincher's new film 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' and I have a good chance of winning the male lead. I'm prepared to oust Blanchette during the negotiations."

"Why get rid of her?" Leonardo DiCaprio disagreed: "She's the lead actress, so you'll have the chance to take her down face-to-face."

Nicholson shared the same opinion: "You took care of them beforehand, what do you call that? Cowardice! You're disgracing our trio!"

Martin frowned. "Is that so?"

Leonardo nodded: "Of course."

Nicholson emphasized, "When facing Bale, did you ever think about taking him out beforehand? But what happened? Now, with a woman, you're thinking about getting rid of her beforehand? What kind of man are you?"

He emphasized, "If Leo and I go to visit the set and there's nothing to do, no one to mess around with, and no excitement to watch, what kind of situation is that? Is that still our style?"

Leonardo DiCaprio added, "The Dark Knight won't be released until next year, and you'll still be playing the Joker on set! There won't even be a single significant enemy then, so who are you going to mess with? David Fincher, you think?"

These two bastards were talking back and forth, which made Martin suddenly think that Blanchett should be the female lead.

"Alright, let's talk about this after the auditions." Martin opened a bottle of wine, poured a glass for each of the three of them, raised his glass, and said, "Jack is treating us to a seafood feast today, and I'll treat you guys to some melon seeds."

Leonardo and Nicholson, having spent a lot of time with Martin, knew what he meant by "watching the show."

The former asked, "What earth-shattering gossip is there?"

Martin had a drink with the two of them and said, "Kim Kardashian will be holding a press conference later."

The relationship between Bruce and Kim is quite private, and Martin hasn't even revealed anything about them, so he only mentions Kim Kardashian.

Nicholson, a shrewd and experienced man, had a subconscious feeling and said, "Looks like something very interesting is about to happen."

Martin opened the laptop he had prepared in advance, connected the data cable, and projected it onto the LCD TV in the Nicholson Restaurant, opening the TMZ live stream window.

TMZ will broadcast this press conference live in its entirety.

The three of them enjoyed a seafood feast, and after a while, the live stream started.

Because of Bruce's secret connections, hundreds of entertainment reporters were present, and TMZ even set up live streaming cameras.

With red eyes, Kim Kardashian walked onto the news stage accompanied by her publicist.

Facing the media, she first expressed her anger: "Hackers stole a selfie video of me and are using it to blackmail me. I can now tell the blackmailers that I am very sad and angry, but I will never accept their blackmail!"

Besides anger, Kardashian also wanted to cultivate another image: "The video was filmed by my ex-boyfriend, capturing our most intimate moments. It was a wonderful three-year relationship, and we wanted to create a lasting memory of our love. We never expected this to happen!"

"This is a crime. Someone is trying to profit from my videos. This is my body, and I should be in charge of it. I will never compromise!"

Kardashian's voice was firm and resolute: "To stop this crime, to prevent the criminals from succeeding, I have decided to proactively release this video so that their criminal acts will never be accomplished!"

As the last sentence was uttered, the press conference fell silent; no one had expected such a response.

Then, another uproar ensued.

Because an even bigger scandal has emerged.

(End of this chapter)