Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 824 - 596 Little Leo’s Dark Material

"What are you planning to do? Lionsgate Films has box office hits and critically acclaimed movies like 'American Sniper,' 'The Revenant,' 'The Martian,' as well as high-quality arthouse films like 'The Fox Hunter,' 'Wickedness by Nature,' 'Into the Wilderness,' 'The Big Short.' What do we have to compare with that?

We simply can't compete; I think we shouldn't waste our money."

Bob frowned and asked.

Upon hearing Bob's words, the flesh on Harvey's face couldn't help but tremble, filled with anger, frustration, and a sense of helplessness brought about by despair. Although he was upset by Bob's words, he had to admit that Bob was right.

At least half of the top ten movies in North America this year came from Lionsgate, with 'American Sniper' and 'The Revenant' being considered the best movies of the year, both from Lionsgate.

None of the movies co-produced by Weinstein Company and Warner could compare with those two, and they even lagged behind the second-tier arthouse films of Lionsgate Films.

Under these circumstances, no amount of money spent on PR could beat Lionsgate, let alone pose a threat.

Harvey was furious in his heart. Once the king of Hollywood, a machine for creating Oscar-winning actors and actresses, he was now far behind Link not only in box office receipts but also completely outmatched by Link in Oscar PR, his area of expertise.

Harvey took a greedy breath and, with a dark face, told Bob that even if they couldn't compete with Lionsgate Films for Oscars, he wouldn't just watch Lionsgate sweep all the Oscars.

Bob frowned and asked what he had in mind.

Harvey's expression was grave and he said nothing.

Not long after, the media began to expose a lot of negative news about Lionsgate Films' movies.

For instance, criticizing 'American Sniper' for its inaccurate adaptation, saying that snipers like to shoot from behind and don't deserve praise, criticizing 'The Revenant' crew for damaging the local ecology during filming, critiquing 'The Big Short' for its superficial premise and not digging deep into the causes of the subprime crisis, and so on.

Some negative news also targeted the main actors of several movies, including Link, Leonardo, Cathy Witherspoon, Joaquin Phoenix, and others.

The most eye-catching were several articles related to Leonardo, claiming he likes to date young women and toy with their emotions, that Leonardo is a false environmentalist, that Leonardo had an affair with a certain female politician, dating on XX island, spending 6 million US dollars a day, and so forth.

Especially the gossip about Leonardo's involvement with a female politician was the most topical; many people speculated that this politician was Mrs. Larry, the candidate of the Democratic Party.

"This is so interesting, I wonder if it's true."

In a top-floor apartment in the LINK Tower, Link, holding the 'New York Post,' was excitedly eating up the juicy scandal.

"Regardless of its authenticity, the timing of this reveal seems intentional, it's probably someone who doesn't want him to win the Oscar for Best Actor."

Ivanka came out from behind the counter with two hot coffees in hand, handing one to him.

"That's probably the case, not sure whether it's fabricated or there's inside information, but if the rumors are true, this news would benefit my father-in-law greatly, and he'd be very pleased to see it," Link said.

"Exactly."

Ivanka tucked a strand of her golden hair behind her ear and smiled slightly, knowing that Mrs. Larry, the primary contender for the Democratic Party, would be vulnerable if the news was confirmed. Her father could use this news to attack his opponent during the race for the presidency.

"Should we get involved?"

"Let's wait and see; it's not appropriate to intervene rashly when the situation is unclear," Link said after thinking it over.

This news is beneficial for his father-in-law and detrimental to Leonardo, his father-in-law might use the news to attack his opponent, while at this moment Leonardo is likely going to be frantic, trying to clear his name from these negative news.

Both his father-in-law and Leonardo are his allies, and it wouldn't be good if either were harmed by this.

So, for now, it's better to just watch and wait to see if there are any further developments.

After this news was exposed, Leonardo's side initially stayed silent, opting not to explain to avoid attracting too much attention. However, the news involved current hot male stars and prominent female politicians, as well as their scandals, which very much catered to the public's appetite.

After the exposure, the news maintained high heat. On the first day, only two or three media reported it, but by the second day, more than ten covered it, and by the third day, it surged onto the trending searches.

At this point, Leonardo's management company and agent hurriedly stepped forward to deny rumors, proposing the use of legal measures to protect Leonardo's reputation and to seek rightful punishment for those spreading false information.

As no fresh material was leaked by the media, the news gradually subsided after being circulated for several days.

Although this news didn't blow up, it did cast some negative impact on Leonardo's reputation, particularly in December, a crucial time for film companies and agents to campaign for the Oscars.

Leonardo phoned Link, furious, shouting that he was not done with Harvey.

"Harvey? You think he's behind this?"

Link was a bit surprised; since Lionsgate rose to become one of the big seven in Hollywood, he had always viewed the other Big Six Studios as competitors and hadn't paid much attention to Harvey and the Weinstein Company, nor did he think they could hinder Lionsgate's development.

Now that Leonardo was adamant that Harvey was playing tricks, it reminded Link of this man.

But he was somewhat puzzled by it.

Harvey was a spokesperson and financier for the Democratic Party in Hollywood, with a good relationship with Mrs. Larry, what could be the purpose of leaking such news at this time, only to prevent Lionsgate Films from winning Oscars?

"Yes, it's Harvey, I have ample evidence,"

Leonardo said.

"Alright, what are you planning to do? If you're going to sue Harvey, Lionsgate can offer some help,"

Link said.

"Thanks! But no need for now, the law is useless against the likes of Harvey. I have dirt on him too, we'll see who outplays whom,"

Leonardo said irately.

Listening, Link raised his eyebrows. It seemed that many in the circle were well aware of Harvey's deeds, but in the past, Harvey had considerable influence, and nobody dared to point fingers.

Now, Harvey and the Weinstein Company were completely suppressed by Lionsgate in Hollywood, their influence diminishing.

Perhaps this was an opportunity to uproot Harvey, the malignancy of Hollywood, eliminating a competitor on one hand, and purifying the entertainment industry, while also reducing the Democratic Party's influence in Los Angeles to help his father-in-law ascend.

And Leonardo's situation provided just the opportunity.

He asked Leonardo what his plan was against Harvey.

Leonardo revealed he knew about Harvey's exploitation of actresses; just some investigation was needed, and Harvey would be covered in disgrace.

Link shook his head, having thought that Leonardo had some solid evidence, but it turned out an investigation was still required.

Considering that apart from acting, Leonardo wasn't particularly reliable in other aspects, he discarded the idea of sharing his material with Leonardo, preferring to hand it to Ronan Farrow instead.

Ronan Farrow was a young man with background, ambition, and a strong desire to make a name for himself, making him a more suitable candidate to take on Harvey than Leonardo.

Leonardo then inquired about the Oscars public relations campaign, saying that such news exploding at this critical time was detrimental.

It also made Leonardo more anxious. He hoped Lionsgate's PR department could come up with solutions to increase his chances of winning an Oscar and not give up on campaigning for him due to the incident.

Link assured him not to worry, assuring that this incident wouldn't affect the Oscars. He asked Leonardo to concentrate on promoting his movies and leave the Oscars campaign to the PR team.