Nate was furious as he read the media reports. Everything he had done hadn't interfered with Gilbert at all.
His movie was still a massive success—an unprecedented triumph.
And these media outlets? Despite Nate having already given them a heads-up, they still gave Gilbert so much coverage, which only fueled his anger.
The media had their own reasoning. Gilbert hadn't broken any rules—he was a well-established figure in Hollywood.
Besides, if they didn't report on him, someone else would. Rather than letting other outlets take all the traffic, why not capitalize on it themselves?
This was the advantage of Gilbert's background. Although the term wasn't widely used at the time, it was highly relevant in the media landscape.
In other words, trying to use political correctness to attack Gilbert would be self-defeating—he was already part of the "correct" side.
Of course, the definition of correctness could shift, but no matter how it changed, Gilbert would always remain within its bounds.
Ultimately, this whole ordeal was solely Nate's faction acting on their own—not everyone supported his actions.
Sure enough, after the incident, someone higher up quickly warned Nate to stop. If they wanted to win over Gilbert, they needed to use peaceful means.
Nate's threats and intimidation hadn't scared Gilbert in the slightest. In fact, with his vengeful personality, he would undoubtedly hold a grudge.
As a result, Nate's plan to create controversy by linking Scarlett Johansson with Gilbert was temporarily shelved. Before long, someone contacted Gilbert's father, hoping he could mediate.
The old man understood the gravity of the situation and soon got in touch with Gilbert.
Some things were difficult to discuss over the phone, so he decided to travel to San Francisco in person. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers promotional tour had just arrived there.
In the hotel, the old man revealed a crucial piece of information to Gilbert: "This whole situation was orchestrated by Nate's group."
Gilbert asked curiously, "What's their objective?"
The old man sighed. "You keep refusing to join them, always finding excuses to delay. So they resorted to these tactics to force you into submission."
Gilbert frowned. "If they want me to join them, they should know I don't respond well to threats.
What makes them so confident? Do they really think they can manipulate me like this without facing any consequences?"
"They have resources, Gilbert—deep connections in both politics and business, control over multiple media outlets, and the power to shape public opinion," the old man explained. He pointed to himself and said, "Those who don't comply get dealt with—just like I was."
"Oh?" Gilbert was intrigued. "So, you were forced out of the industry because you wouldn't play along?"
"Something like that. It's complicated. But if you don't want to end up the same way, you'd be better off listening to them," the old man said, his expression conflicted.
However, knowing his son well, he was certain Gilbert wouldn't give in.
Sure enough, Gilbert sneered, "Hah, do they think they can do whatever they want without consequences?
Don't worry—I will never bow to them.
If anyone tries to lay a hand on me, I'll make sure they regret it."
"I figured you'd say that," the old man said with a helpless smile before asking, "So, what's your plan?"
"My plan?" Gilbert rubbed his chin in thought. "This isn't something that can be handled recklessly—it requires strategy."
"What kind of strategy?" The old man was curious to hear what his son had in mind.
"Nothing much," Gilbert replied after a moment. He decided not to share his plan with the old man—not because he didn't trust him, but because the fewer people who knew, the better.
The old man was already at an age where he deserved a peaceful retirement. There was no need for him to get involved.
In reality, Gilbert did have a plan—a bold one, requiring a good deal of luck to succeed.
If it failed, there would be consequences.
The plan was simple: on September 11th, he would climb to the top of the New York Twin Towers—then wait for the plane to come crashing in.
The only issue was that, based on some information from his past life, it was clear that certain people had long known this major event would happen but had chosen not to prevent it.
In the process, they even used the incident as an excuse to orchestrate other events, finding justifications for certain actions.
So now, Gilbert wasn't sure whether that man named Nate was aware of this or if he would take the bait.
As far as he knew, Nate shouldn't have any knowledge of this, nor had anyone informed him.
If not for his past-life memories, Gilbert himself wouldn't have known about this world-changing event.
Thus, what he needed to do was test Nate and observe his reaction.
The old man had brought a few photographs, pointing out Nate so that Gilbert could get a clear look at him.
As long as he knew who the person was and who the enemy was, the problem wouldn't be too big.
Moreover, it was time to make a decision about his stance—he couldn't remain neutral any longer.
With Gilbert's status and position, staying neutral on certain matters was no longer an option. Everyone wanted him to take a side, to confirm whether he was friend or foe.
So, without hesitation, Gilbert picked up the phone and made a call…
A new week arrived, and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was still going strong. Wherever the cast went, they were met with enthusiastic fans.
In the lounge, all the actors involved in the promotional tour were waiting for the event to begin.
Anne Hathaway sat beside Gilbert, reading media reviews to the rest of the crew.
"We have reason to believe that the brilliance created by The Two Towers has already reached the peak of the series, but The Return of the King will be even more astonishing. Let's look forward to The Return of the King…"
Anne tilted her head and asked Gilbert, "Will The Return of the King be more spectacular than The Two Towers?"
Before Gilbert could reply, Bernard, who played King Théoden, said, "Jacqueline, all I can say is that the Battle of Helm's Deep was just a small scene.
The real grand spectacle will be in The Return of the King."
"Really?" Anne Hathaway was intrigued.
"Absolutely," Bernard stood up and said, "I still remember the day we filmed that scene—we used over 4,000 horses along with an equivalent number of extras.
That charge was breathtaking."
All the actors turned to Gilbert, who nodded. "Bernard is right. That scene was the largest-scale one I've ever filmed.
You'll see it in the next movie."
Orlando Bloom eagerly rubbed his hands together. "Legolas takes part in that battle too—I even personally take down an elephant."
"Hey, Orlando, that elephant was fake."
"Fake or not, I still took it down."
The lounge was filled with laughter and joy. The film had been as successful as expected, and they had every reason to be happy.
Everyone present had been riding the wave of success since last summer, and the momentum was bound to continue into next year.
It was about time. Gilbert stood up, clapped his hands, and said, "Alright, time to head out."
"Yes…" The cast followed Gilbert out of the lounge.
Outside, a deafening wave of cheers hit them—the passionate voices of fans creating a tremendous roar in the square.
The cast and crew were already used to this. Everywhere they went, they caused a sensation. That was the power of a beloved film—it had conquered so many people.
All other films had retreated in the face of The Two Towers's overwhelming success. The film's screening ratio had already reached 75%.
Yet, theaters were still not satisfied. The Emperor Theaters had cleared all their screens for The Two Towers, showing it exclusively.
Meanwhile, at AMG Theaters, a meeting was underway, with only one focus: The Two Towers.
"My only suggestion is to increase The Two Towers's screenings," AMG's Vice President of Theater Operations, John Lee, proposed. "I believe 70% is still too low—we should raise it to over 80%."
John Lee was a strong supporter of The Two Towers. In fact, after its record-breaking opening week, everyone in the meeting room had become a supporter.
Another executive added, "I've heard that Emperor Theaters and ZMC Theaters have already increased their screening ratio to 80%. We need to act fast."
Hearing this, the AMG Theaters President, already in favor of expanding The Two Towers's screening scale, no longer hesitated and decisively announced, "Increase The Two Towers's screenings.I want every AMG-owned theater to be playing The Two Towers—without exception."
"Yes…" The executives' faces lit up, as if they could already see their theater chain's bright future under The Two Towers's success.
Expanding The Two Towers's screenings would inevitably impact other films, such as Shrek, which was set to release that week.
In fact, according to the plan, before Shrek's release, The Two Towers's screening scale would not be reduced.
If Shrek performed poorly in its opening week, its screening allocation would quickly shrink, making way for more The Two Towers screenings.
Although Shrek and The Two Towers targeted slightly different audiences, theater screens were limited.
For every screen The Two Towers took, Shrek lost one—so competition still existed between the two.
The second week of The Two Towers versus the first week of Shrek—who would come out on top remained uncertain.
However, based on the current momentum, Shrek didn't seem like it could compete with The Two Towers at all.
After all, Shrek was produced by DreamWorks.
...
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