The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Chapter 603 Leonardo's Attack

In the entertainment industry, the rivalry between female stars is far more intense than that between male stars, especially Jacqueline and Natalie. Whoever wins the Best Actress Oscar this year will become the first person born in the 1980s to win both the Best Actor and Best Actress awards.

Both of them have their own advantages.

With Elon Musk as her financial backer, Jacqueline has been carefully cultivated over the years to firmly establish herself as a figure embodying the American Dream.

Needless to say, Natalie's Jewish background and her studies in Jerusalem alone would win her a lot of support in Hollywood.

Eric said, "On the studio side, we've developed a professional PR strategy for Jacqueline in collaboration with Full Speed ​​PR, and she has a very good chance of winning."

Hawke didn't pay much attention to Jacqueline, saying, "Our main goal is still Best Director and Best Picture."

Tom Krusto stroked his chin: "In other words, a head-on confrontation with Harvey Weinstein is inevitable."

Five or six years ago, if Hawke had faced an opponent like Harvey, he would have personally taken to the field and tried every possible method to compete with Harvey.

But Hawke wasn't very interested now, and said, "Find someone to persuade Harvey to quit."

Eric and Tom Cruise had no objections and took it for granted.

Hawke said to Eric, "Contact Campos; he should have some information about Hillary's connection to Harvey..."

“Leave it to me.” Leonardo stepped forward. “I’m quite familiar with Harvey. We’ve dealt with each other a lot in the old days, so it’s easy for us to talk. Harvey is also more likely to listen.”

Hawke knew that Leonardo had been tricked by Harvey, so he gave him this opportunity: "Okay, you find Edward and go with him to the Flower Butterfly Security Company in Venice these two days."

Leonardo had been looking forward to this day, and said with a smile, "I'll go today."

Eric called him over and said, "Wait a minute, I called you here today because there's something I want to discuss with you."

Leonardo remembered that he needed to discuss the new movie, and said, "I can make a cameo appearance in your new biopic for free, and my schedule can be adjusted at any time."

Eric didn't mean that, and said, "I plan to find a young actor to play your role."

Leonardo was puzzled: "Do I only act after 2005?" He deliberately stood up and turned around: "I have successfully lost weight."

Eric explained, "No, I mean there's another key character in this film, the male lead."

Hawke looked at Leonardo and interjected, "Isn't the male lead Loretta?"

“That’s right, the male lead is Laughlinton.” Eric had obtained a lot of information about Sylvia from Hawke and was writing a script outline: “We lack a male actor who is really familiar with this couple, has excellent acting skills, and also has a real understanding of the political situation.”

Leonardo understood: "You want me to play Richard Lamb?"

Eric smiled with an artistic flair: "Yes, you understand the real situation of this couple and are able to portray that feeling. This character will be very three-dimensional, a president and former president who has suffered long-term family oppression from Hillary. It has a lot of potential for exploration."

He also offered a bait: "A role like this has the explosive potential to win an Oscar."

The Oscar for Best Actor, an award Leonardo DiCaprio longed for, and he paid a heavy price for it.

Originally, he wanted to use the male lead from "The Wolf of Wall Street" to compete for the Oscars.

But after the script was written, Leonardo DiCaprio found the character to be somewhat exaggerated, and even Martin Scorsese felt that such a role had little chance of winning an Oscar.

Eric continued to urge, "You are shaping a president for the most glorious era of America, one who has departed from the past and is now in a completely new light..."

Leonardo's concerns were never about the role. He interrupted Eric, saying, "Give me some time. I need to think about it carefully, and there's also the script for the role."

Eric shrugged and said directly, "I don't have the character script yet, but I'll contact you as soon as I finish it."

Thinking of Eric's film, which earned Tom Cruise the Oscar for Best Actor, and the subsequent films that won major Oscar awards, Leonardo said, "Apart from Martin Scorsese's 'The Wolf of Wall Street,' I won't be taking on any other films next year; I'll keep my schedule open for now."

But he still emphasized, "I need to see the script for the role before I can make a real decision."

Eric had essentially achieved his goal and said, "Okay."

Hearing this, Hawke interjected, "Have you found a suitable actress to play Sillaly?"

Eric had already considered this: "Meryl Streep is good, but her political stance might influence her decision."

This is the most typical left-wing representative among Hollywood actresses.

Tom Cruise said, "We have plenty of time to cast the female lead. With Eric's star power, we could film from North Hollywood to Beverly Hills with any actress who wants to be in the role."

This is no exaggeration. Eric not only won the Oscar for Best Director, but also achieved commercial and critical success with five consecutive films.

Two print media outlets, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, have grouped Christopher Nolan and Eric Carle together, calling them the most representative figures of the new generation of directors.

Hawke said, "These tasks will still be handled by you. I have some good news to share in advance: given the success of 'Sugar Baby,' the Malaysians and Abu Dhabi will continue to invest in our film, and Anil Ambani from India will also be contributing. There's no need to skimp on the budget; we'll spend the money where it's needed."

Tom Cruise nodded: "Malaysia and Abu Dhabi contacted me and said that if 'Sugar Baby' wins a few Oscars, they will give the crew a bonus. The only requirement is to appear at the Oscars ceremony, not to walk the red carpet."

Hawke was always particular about how he treated his clients, saying, "Please grant this request."

Eric laughed: "Sponsors like them are so friendly to creators. They're willing to spend money, and although they might make some special requests, once filming starts, they absolutely won't interfere and will insist on letting professionals do professional things."

Hawke knew that once Hollywood had exploited these people enough, they would be in for a tough time.

These Hollywood companies are all swindlers. Relying on the beacon effect of America, they recklessly use so-called Hollywood-style accounting rules, cheating wave after wave of international investors.

Unfortunately, there are countless overseas forces that want to launder money, making it all the more convenient for the film industry.

It's not uncommon in Hollywood to see a film made with an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars turn out to be a flop.

After discussing these matters, Hawke invited the other three to lunch.

As a result, the restaurants near Ethan's film studio were anything but quiet.

News of Eric's new film preparation had already spread through various channels. Several restaurants he frequented, agents from the five major talent agencies, and actors hoping to make a fortune kept coming up to him to chat.

Hawke, Tom Cruise, and Leonardo barely ate a few bites before hastily leaving the restaurant. Leonardo drove his Tesla, met up with Edward, and headed straight for the Butterfly Security Company in Venice.

Campos had already been notified by Edward and retrieved the relevant documents from the underground vault. When Leonardo arrived, he personally handed them over, reminding him, "You can only look at them here. I will take them back after you're done. Also, please note that the content you see can only be used by Harvey Weinstein himself and cannot be disseminated outside of this place."

Leonardo was very comfortable on Hawke's boat and had no intention of jumping ship, replying, "I promise."

Campos called Edward and they left the reception room.

Once the door closed, Leonardo began to read it carefully. Much of the content involved Sylvia, and it corroborated what he already knew.

In addition, there is content about Hollywood.

Leonardo wasn't surprised at all, because most of what Harvey Weinstein was involved in were basic practices for Hollywood executives.

As for the situation of turning one's back on someone after they've done their bidding, and never delivering on promises made beforehand, there are many similar cases.

However, some of them are quite despicable.

There are too many women in Hollywood, and it's normal for people in the upper echelons to cheat and deceive; relatively few people resort to force.

After all, there are too many things that can move those women.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a prime example of this; although he changes girlfriends frequently, almost no one speaks ill of him after each breakup.

At most, people would jokingly call him a 100-meter sprinter.

There was a lot of material, and even though Leonardo could read ten lines at a glance, it took him most of the afternoon to finish reading it.

He called Edward, and when Edward and Campos returned, he personally returned all the documents to the latter, saying, "Thank you, I found this very helpful."

Campos put away the documents and said, "You're welcome."

Leonardo shook hands with Edward again and said, "I have to go now, I have an appointment to meet with someone."

Edward knew what he was going to do and said, "Remember to bring bodyguards. That guy doesn't follow the rules. Don't let him detain you."

"I'll be careful," Leonardo said, recalling the information he had just reviewed.

Harvey wanted to buy an independent film directed and produced by a director, but the other party refused to sell because he thought the price was too low. Harvey then detained the man in a hotel room, cutting off his access to the outside world until he submitted.

He drove his Tesla out of the Butterfly Security Company, found a quiet spot by the sea, parked, and dialed Harvey Weinstein's number.

“Long time no see, Harvey.” Leonardo let out a hearty laugh, as if there had never been any rift between them, like old friends talking on the phone: “You’ve been in Los Angeles lately, right? Do you have time tonight? Let’s meet up.”

Meanwhile, Harvey was having a good time with some friends in the media industry when he received Leonardo's call, which surprised him somewhat.

He suppressed his surprise and said, "Sure, I'll be at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills tonight. You know the room number."

Hearing this, Leonardo felt a surge of anger, because he had suffered the humiliation of being groped by Hillary in Harvey's room.

"You have to get up from where you fell down," Leonardo replied. "Okay, I'll be there at eight o'clock sharp."

Facing the actor, Harvey was very confident, saying, "I'll be waiting for you."

Leonardo hung up the phone, waved to the person behind him, and someone got out of the bodyguard vehicle that was following behind and ran over.

The man asked, "Boss?"

Leonardo recounted his trip to the Four Seasons Hotel that evening, and specifically reminded everyone: "If you receive my distress signal, you must not only come to rescue me immediately, but also call the police and notify Hawke at the same time."

The bodyguard, from the Butterfly Security Company, replied without hesitation, "Yes, sir!"

Leonardo breathed a sigh of relief. With Hawke as his backer, he felt extremely at ease. Harvey Weinstein was just a nobody.

Meanwhile, Edward left the Butterfly Security Company and went straight back to the Coast Building.

Upon entering Hawke's office, he said, "Leonardo might arrange to meet Harvey Weinstein today."

Hawke said, "Harvey was the one who orchestrated all that mess between Leonardo and Hillary back then. Now that he has the chance, Leonardo wants to get his revenge."

Edward could tell: "He's been looking at the documents all afternoon; he seems a bit anxious."

Hawke chuckled. "Let Leonardo do his best."

“They say that film company owners and producers have a huge psychological advantage, even when facing top-tier actors.” Edward scratched his dark face and asked, “If Leonardo’s talks with Harvey don’t go well and Harvey rejects him, what should we do next?”

Hawke thought for a moment and said, "It's actually very simple. If Harvey doesn't want to maintain his dignity, then he'll ask you to help him maintain his dignity."

Edward pointed to his face: "I'm helping Harvey maintain his dignity?"

Hawke reminded him, "You are the special assistant to the chairman of Twitter, the world's largest internet media company. The media resources you can mobilize are among the top in the entire United States."

Edward immediately understood: "If Harvey refuses to step back voluntarily, we'll ruin his reputation and make it impossible for him to ever work in Hollywood again."

At this point, he recalled the information he had read: "Not only will he be disgraced, but he will also be sent to prison to spend time in jail with those fat black men who like white men."

Hawke was relieved and said directly, "Keep an eye on this matter and stay in touch with Leo. If things don't go well, you'll be in charge of handling the aftermath."

Edward grinned, revealing two rows of bright white teeth: "Leave it to me!"

As Edward left Hawke's office, he was filled with anticipation, hoping that Harvey would reject Leonardo so that he would have a chance to make his move.

After all, there are many Black people in Compton prisons, and many of them like fat white men; they are eager to be fed.

As darkness fell, several cars arrived in Beverly Hills and parked in the roadside parking lot in front of the Four Seasons Hotel.

Leonardo got out of the car, exchanged glances with his bodyguards, checked the alarm on his wristwatch, and walked into the hotel alone.

(End of this chapter)