American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 83 A Series of Interlocking Events That Will Kill You

The process by which the five people came together was actually very simple. They already knew each other, and their interests aligned. So, after a few private exchanges, it was only natural that they formed an alliance, and then, it was inevitable that they would meet again when the opportunity arose.

At this moment, the problem they face can be summarized in one sentence:
That's because "The Voice of China" is blocking their way.

In that case, taking down "The Voice of China" is what they want to do most. As for how to do it?

There are generally two types of attacks, one from the inside and one from the outside.

However, judging from the current situation, the most effective tactic in business warfare, 'empire collapse,' is no longer applicable.

Although Michael Eisner remains the tyrant of Disney, his control over the company has weakened considerably.

I can no longer say no to Robert Iger.

Even though Ted Turner and Steve Case were the largest and second-largest individual shareholders in AOL Time Warner, they couldn't very well stab Rockefeller in the back when his servants insisted on becoming that damned Captain Dragonfly.

Therefore, after a brief discussion, they abandoned the tactic of 'internal disintegration'.

Then, the idea of ​​'attacking from the outside to shake the inside' came to their table.

Since the most common external attack in business warfare is the war of public opinion, such as Mixue Ice Cream using overnight lemons, and IP operation is all about reputation, the show exploded as soon as the scandal of "Million" came out. Therefore, the consensus among everyone is that "ruining the brand of "The Voice of China" will bring success, and it is also the direction of their moves.

As for the specific approach...

"Before coming here, I had already come up with a plan, so everyone..."

Michael Eisner spoke first.

look around.

The other four all nodded, willing to let Eisner be the first to throw out the first idea.

Of course, if Eisner's plan is good, the four of them won't have to embarrass themselves.

"Okay, does anyone remember Michael Arndt?"

Since everyone agreed that Eisner should be the leader of the anti-good alliance, Eisner didn't hold back and said directly, "I'm going to have Michael Arndt come forward and have him say that the core of 'The Voice' was written by him..."

That's right.

The accusation that the original script for "The Voice of the World" was written by someone else is a smear campaign devised by Eisner.

This is something that the Weinstein brothers and Robert Shea had thought about but dared not do before.

But, the past is the past, and the present is the present.

Six months ago, The Voice only affected the interests of the Weinstein brothers and Robert Shea, and at most Ted Turner. When these four could no longer control the industry, they would definitely be more cautious in their actions.

But what about now?

The people in the anti-good alliance are either the chairman of News Corporation or the vice chairman of Vivendi Universal! They're either key figures at AOL and Time Warner or tyrants who have dominated Disney for twenty years! Even if these people were to upend Hollywood, those stars would only be able to accept it! They'd only be able to bury their heads in the sand! They'd have to pretend they know nothing!
So, embracing simplicity is what Eisner most wants to do.

Besides, they didn't intend to destroy the entire industry, did they?
At this moment, all they want to do is eliminate the obstacles in their path to success.

"I think there's nothing wrong with this operation."

After exchanging glances, Ted Turner was the first to speak.

"I agree."

Steve Case followed closely behind.

"I have no opinion."

Edgar Bronfman Jr. nodded.

And Rupert Murdoch...

He pushed up his glasses and said, "Michael, we at Fox News can cover this."

"If you can get Michael Arndt out, we can do an exclusive interview with him."

Murdoch's meaning is very clear.

He knew that Eisner couldn't use ABC right now, because that was Robert Iger's private domain.

He also knew that Ted Turner was not in a good position to direct CNN at the moment, because Rockefeller's retainers might not care if a business worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars was ruined, but if a business worth billions of dollars was ruined? Then they would really beat him up.

Therefore, by controlling the media, he helped everyone share the pressure, which can be considered as actively promoting unity and cooperation.

But at the same time--

"Michael, telling stories about original fraud should be the first step in your plan, right?"

After seeing Eisner smile and nod, as if to express his gratitude for everyone's approval, Murdoch added, "Because such accusations can affect The Voice, but they won't have a huge impact on The Voice."

"Of course!"

Eisner raised an eyebrow, clapped his hands, and continued, "Pointing out the originality issues of 'The Voice' is only the first step in my attack, and only the first half of the first step. At the same time, I will also have people accuse 'The Voice' of plagiarizing its variety show format. This step is very simple; just find some variety shows with similar audition processes to 'The Voice' and have the producers of those shows sue 'The Voice.' Because this kind of smear campaign is just an appetizer; it's not enough to kill them."

"The soul of The Voice brand is Isabella Heywood. If we don't ruin her reputation, The Voice will still be a successful variety show, at most it won't become the next Million Dollar Man."

"I think this outcome is unacceptable to everyone..."

Eisner's words were met with approval from everyone present.

Because regardless of whether it's original fabrication or plagiarism of variety show format, these accusations will eventually disappear.

The demise of the former is quite simple. Everyone present had seen the draft of "Little Miss Sunshine," and it was not exactly the same as "The Voice," but rather completely unrelated.

Therefore, when the script for "The Voice" is 100% original.

The related accusations will ultimately fail.

The latter's demise is simpler. While Europe and America do value the protection of intellectual property rights, the law will not protect game processes that the general public can think of or that the general public is using.

Let's take side-scrolling platformers in the video game industry as an example.

If this thing could be protected, then there would be no Mario in this world.

Nintendo simply cannot develop!
All that will be available is Atari!

Even if it's absolutely rotten!
The law generally protects trademark rights and copyrights.

The reason why "Million" keeps losing is that they not only copied other people's processes but also imitated other people's brands!
Therefore, when the script of "The Voice of China" is original, a talent show created under the name of "The Voice of China" cannot possibly be plagiarized, and all the accusations are just disgusting.

In that case...

Attacking "The Voice of China" was just a smokescreen put out by Eisner.

The real killing move was to hide and then pour excrement on Isabella.

As for what kind of excrement it is...

"Ted, do you have any news?"

Eisner looked at the other person.

Ted Turner understood what he meant and immediately shook his head.

“Isabella is fine, her family is fine, we don’t have any useful information here…”

Since the goal is to smear Isabella, the simplest and most effective attack is to expose her dirty secrets.

Moreover, capital is all too adept at doing this kind of thing.

Because many celebrities' scandals are exposed by their financial backers.

For example, Tom Cruise and Paramount.

When Tom Cruise and Paramount had serious disagreements over the distribution of profits from the Mission: Impossible series and Cruise wanted to take the series with him, Paramount's boss, Sumner Redstone, didn't hold back and directly exposed Cruise's secrets!
Scientology, anti-psychiatry—all of these things were revealed by Sumner Redstone himself!

The reason for doing this is simple: Sumner Redstone wanted to tell the world that he wanted to kill Tom Cruise!

You want to cut off my source of income? Then I'll just have to send you to meet your maker!
Then--

Tom Cruise then returned to Paramount.

No one dared to take him in.

Because it's true that such manipulation by capital is real, Ted Turner knew what Eisner wanted to ask as soon as he opened his mouth, and when Isabella was indeed clean with Warner...

Eisner then looked at Murdoch.

"Rupert, do you have anything good to show for yourself?"

"..."

The blunt question left Murdoch speechless.

The others present all chuckled.

Because everyone understands what Eisner means—

Although Murdoch is Australian, he had already expanded his business to the UK as early as the 1960s. In order to rapidly expand his business empire, he did all sorts of dirty and unpleasant jobs.

To boost newspaper sales, he could spread rumors about celebrities;
In order to gain more political advantages, he cooperated with politicians, manipulated public opinion through the media, and helped allies suppress competitors. In return, he was able to obtain funds from his allies to acquire competitors and avoid antitrust investigations.

Not only that, he also enjoys stirring up trouble. For example, he is on the list of investors in Amnesty International. This is because stirring up trouble all over the world can bring world-class political influence to his allies. At the same time, he can also take the opportunity to enter a country's market.
Uh……

The media is just his public business...

As an Australian, how could he possibly not be in the mining and energy business?
The mining of these things would be considered pollution even in environmentally conscious developed countries.

So, the media is his best shield.

In addition, he also enjoys eavesdropping on others...

Ok.

Eisner asking Murdoch if he had any information was the same as the Weinstein brothers hiring outside help to investigate Isabella's father.

Because the harm caused by spreading rumors has a limit; it can only smear one person.

Only real dirt on her could make them kill Isabella.

but……

"She doesn't use her phone often."

After a moment's hesitation, Murdoch ultimately chose to use veiled language to acknowledge what everyone already knew.

“She has a cell phone and communicates, but she doesn’t answer calls directly. When people try to reach her, they have to call her mother or her sister, and then she calls them back. When there’s a time gap in communication and the involvement of a third party…”

"There won't be much privacy involved in this kind of communication."

Everyone understood.

Murdoch's words are easy to understand.

To give an extreme example: You're a nurse with a colleague who loves running marathons and participates in races every week. This week you're off, and she wants to switch shifts with you, but you refuse. If she calls at this point, and you simply hand your phone to your husband, she won't be able to ask to switch shifts, because your husband will be furious with her.

So, when Murdoch stated that Isabella's communications with the outside world were relayed through intermediaries, the biggest message he conveyed to everyone present was the inability to obtain information, and the outcome...

"If that's the case, Isabella is truly a perfect child."

Ted Turner shook his head with a sigh.

Others also agreed.

After failing to play the "insider leak" and "eavesdropping" cards, the other four people present turned their attention to Eisner, wanting to know if he had a way to break the deadlock.

Eisner chuckled and tapped the table with his index finger. "It seems even God wants to destroy Isabella."

"Since none of you expected this, then let's use my approach."

"My idea is to 'maliciously raise money'."

"From a positive perspective, Isabella is very successful now. She can act in movies, release albums, and do variety shows. But from another perspective, isn't her behavior just about repeatedly reaping fans? And her products are sold at very high prices."

"And then, if I remember correctly, none of her mini-discs have music videos?" "When a mini-disc with only five songs and no music videos sells for $49.99, can't we just say she's exploiting her fans? And two of those five songs are covers?"

"Oh—she's never cared about her fans at all—"

"The New York Observer says she's sincere?"

"Ah--"

"That kind of person—"

"sincere?"

Throwing excrement at someone is a skill in itself.

If the excrement doesn't smell, then splashing it won't have any effect.

If the excrement smells too bad, people will suspect that there is something wrong with it.

For example, the most common type of rumor spread in the entertainment industry is pornography.

But this tactic was clearly ineffective against Isabella.

Not to mention Isabella is only 13 years old! Some media outlets are saying she's like Madonna? Isn't that insulting everyone's intelligence?

Then, the legal power of minors alone is enough to make those who spread such rumors lose more than they gain!

When such remarks are made, the FBI will investigate in the United States, and the CID in the United Kingdom.

It's fine to smear someone, but you can't leave any ammunition for the outside world to retaliate while you're doing so!

Right?

However, criticizing Isabella for being a money-grubber is a different story.

This matter won't attract the attention of the authorities, and besides, Isabella is indeed producing a lot of things right now—

Last November, "The Secret Chamber" was released;
In December, "The Voice of China" returns;
In March of this year, after The Voice of China finished its theatrical run, she released a mini-disc and the soundtrack.
Then, at the end of April, just recently, the videotapes of "The Voice of China" were released again.

Then, during this process, the videotape of "The Locked Room" was also sold...

Although only Isabella's personal mini-disc is directly related to her among the above products, it doesn't matter, right?
As long as Isabella appears in these products and leaves her name, I dare say you're ripping people off like crazy!

Furthermore, I can even produce 'conclusive evidence'!
It's true that there are no music videos on your mini disc, right?

While there's no rule in the pop music industry that mini-discs must include music videos, if your mini-disc is a top-tier product, would you really feel comfortable not making music videos for your mini-discs and your songs?
What? You're saying you don't have time?

Isn't this just you trying to make money off others?
Even if Isabella can explain this problem, how do you explain the fact that there are cover songs on the mini disc?
What? You're saying the cover song was because the movie needed it?
Okay! That explanation works!
But since you've said that your cover song is for the movie, why can't it just stay on the soundtrack?
So what you're doing is just making money off others!
After the media said that Isabella's success was due to 'sincerity'!

In Eisner's eyes, a target immediately appeared!
he knows--

As long as you target the "sincerity" aspect!

As long as the public thinks Isabella is hypocritical!

That would completely ruin Isabella's reputation!
He understood—

As long as Isabella is labeled as 'teasing fans and maliciously making money'!

As long as the public thinks that those who support her are idiots!

Because of her, The Voice of China will explode!
"Oh—that's a great idea! I love it!"

After listening to Eisner's story, Ted Turner's lips curled into a smile!
“I think this attack will work! And then the source’s release—let’s go with my Fox.”

Murdoch has landed another job!
Although Bronfman Jr. didn't say anything, the smile on his face said it all!
And Steve Case...

Perhaps it was because he had been taught a lesson by Eisner earlier? This made him lose face?
But it's also possible that he felt there was still room for improvement in Eisner's plan?

So even though he nodded, he still showed some doubt in his voice.

"Michael, I don't think your plan is completely over yet?"

"Because, judging from the current plan, your plan is merely an upgraded version of the Weinstein brothers' unfinished scheme."

"and……"

"What if the public doesn't believe Isabella is trying to make money off them...?"

This question made Eisner narrow his eyes slightly.

He was somewhat annoyed at that moment.

Because Steve Case's words implied that he was incompetent and relied entirely on copying Weinstein's previous ideas.

It's more like saying that no matter how much a failed case is upgraded, it will never succeed.

However, all the dissatisfaction lasted only a moment.

He glanced at Steve Case, then looked around, and continued with a smile, "Of course, Steve, you're absolutely right. What I've said so far is only half of the plan, because my principle is to kill with one blow!"

"Now that we've made our move, we must finish off our opponents so they can never recover!"

"So, my plan actually has three steps."

At this point, Eisner licked his lips, a neurotic smile spreading across his face—

“In my plan, the first step was to create a smokescreen for Robert Iger and Barry Mayer, making them think that our attacks were all aimed at The Voice brand.”

"Once their attention was entirely focused on 'The Voice,' we immediately executed the second step of our plan: to attack Isabella and ruin her reputation when they were caught off guard."

"If we can take down Isabella at this stage, that would be ideal."

"But if we can't discredit Isabella, for example, if the public doesn't believe that a 13-year-old girl would actively seek to make money, then we have a third step: to go with the flow and pin the blame for the money-grabbing on Disney and Warner."

"Didn't the public not believe that Isabella would make money off of him?"

"Okay!"

"At that time, we will mobilize all media resources and say that all the money-grabbing activities were done by Warner and Disney! Isabella has never rested since she entered the industry! She has been coerced by capital! She has become a money-making machine for capital!"

She's not happy!

"so--"

"We must save Isabella!"

Boycott Disney and Warner Bros.!

"Let 'The Voice of China' die!!!"

Swah——

The high-pitched voice caused everyone present to shrink their pupils.

At that moment, everyone witnessed Michael Eisner's madness.

This is not only because he made thorough preparations when he made his move.

It's also because the third step in his plan is practically immortal!
Is Isabella's money-grabbing activities being described as being manipulated by capital?

Isn't this just an attempt to incite class struggle?
Disney and Warner Bros. are both capitalists, but Isabella... she doesn't control the means of production, does she?

and so……

Those who know, know.

Once Eisner came up with this wicked plan, his goal became very clear!
Either succeed—

He directly ousted Robert Iger and Roy Disney, and continued to be the king of Disney!
Either die for your country—

I may lose, but you'll all go to hell with me! Because I'm taking down your brands along with me!
This……

"That's fine with me."

Rupert Murdoch was the first to speak out.

He thought Eisner's plan was excellent.

Not to mention that he runs News Corporation and Fox, not Disney and Warner.

Given their hostile relationship, since competitors are enemies, he wanted Disney and Warner Bros. to die together more than anyone else.

"That's okay with me too."

Steve Case was the second to speak.

Warner had no interest in him, so he readily agreed.

As soon as they spoke, the pressure fell on Ted Turner.

After staring at Eisner for a long time, Ted Turner also made his decision.

"I agree."

He suddenly smiled and said, "A reputation can be cultivated if it's ruined, but once power is gone, it's truly gone."

"Back when Steve Ross took over Warner Bros., Warner Bros. didn't have a good reputation either, but look at it now?"

Time can wash everything away.

"Hahahaha—" Eisner burst into laughter upon hearing this.

He knew Ted Turner would agree with his idea!
Of course, Ted Turner is not wrong either.

Thirty years ago, Warner Bros. was a notorious name in the United States.

Because Steve Ross has a bad reputation.

He earned his first fortune by working with the Luciano family.

but now……

Who remembers all of this?

With Ted Turner nodding, the Anti-Good Alliance meeting came to an end.

Although Bronfman Jr., one of the five members of the alliance, did not express his opinion, it did not matter, because everyone knew he would agree. Moreover, in Eisner's eyes, Bronfman Jr. was actually the most important part of the whole plan.

because--

"Edgar?"

After laughing, Eisner looked at Bronfman Jr.

"Michael?"

Bronfman Jr. and Eisner were close friends. Eisner was also Jewish, and his family was a member of the World Jewish Congress.

"Is there something on your mind that you've been thinking about by remaining silent?"

"No, I think your plan is fantastic."

"Okay, thank you. In that case, could you do me a favor?"

"Of course! I'm also a member of the alliance. Just tell me what I can do, as long as it's within my power."

“Okay, then I’ll get straight to the point. In our plan, we can handle the first step ourselves, but launching the second step, which is to criticize Isabella for making money, is a bit difficult for us. So, we want to use your people.”

"Use my people? Sure... Who do you want to use?"

Bronfman Jr. only thought for a moment before agreeing.

His words brought a bright smile to Eisner's face.

"I want to use your henchman, America's number one scoundrel—"

"Eminem".

(End of this chapter)