America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Century City, inside the WMA office.

Thomas brought over a stack of publications, including "Variety" and "Entertainment Weekly," and placed them on the low table in front of Martin, saying, "Starting this morning, many reviews unfavorable to 'The Martian' have appeared in newspapers, online videos, and TV critique shows."

"It seems someone is treating us as their main competitor," Martin said as he picked up a newspaper to read.

On the front page of the entertainment section of this newspaper, a retired astronaut named Walter criticized 'The Martian' for its lack of rigor, pointing out numerous inaccuracies with the facts.

"Martin Davis maintaining a similar walking and carrying method on Mars as on Earth is not scientific at all. Mars' gravity is only one-third of Earth's. Multiple NASA experiments have proven that normal movement on Mars should involve more jumping or small shuffling steps, not the way Martin Davis does it."

This former astronaut aimed directly at Martin from the get-go, outright criticizing his role.

And there was more.

"A large storm like that is impossible on Mars. The atmospheric pressure on Mars is less than one percent of Earth's, and even if Martian winds reach speeds of 160 kilometers per hour, the actual force of the wind is equivalent to just 16 kilometers per hour on Earth—a breeze barely strong enough to fly a kite."

"The dangers of space radiation were completely ignored by the film. According to the ways Martin Davis handles and rescues himself in the movie, he would definitely become seriously ill from space radiation, and even if he managed to return to Earth, he would likely die quickly from cancer!"

Even Martin, the leading man of the film, couldn't find fault with these statements, as they were based on current scientific research.

Afterward, this ex-astronaut picked apart many more aspects of the film, such as the toilets, hab, spacesuits, and rovers, finding a vast number of inconsistencies.

Without saying a single sentence that 'The Martian' was implausible, they managed to suggest throughout that the film was rubbish.

Martin didn't lose his temper; instead, he remarked, "This is starting to feel like awards season."

After more than a decade of Harvey Weinstein's operations and influence, the rules of the Oscar game had long changed. Acting and roles were merely the most basic of foundations, and even widespread promotional PR had become routine.

If you want to win awards, you not only have to do well yourself, but also ensure your competitors stumble.

What if the competitors don't want to stumble? Well, of course, you pull their legs apart and help them fall on their faces!

Clearly, someone wanted to hold Martin back, to help him stumble.

Martin switched to another newspaper to read.

This was an issue of "Entertainment Weekly," which also included articles about 'The Martian.'

A botanist from the California Institute of Technology criticized the most talked-about portion of the film.

"I have seen 'The Martian,' and everyone is praising the potato growing scene with Martin Davis, but this most brilliant performance of his is not at all in keeping with common sense. NASA's Mars rover has already landed and proven that Martian soil contains toxins. When Martin Davis starts growing potatoes, he doesn't treat the Martian soil at all..."
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Martin set the paper aside and picked up another. It too contained critiques and accusations by so-called professionals against 'The Martian.'

Then, Thomas turned on the monitor connected to the computer, playing several video news pieces from different websites, which were quite similar to the ones Martin had just read.

"They've already started warming up for voting," Martin asked, "Do you know where these news stories are coming from?"

Thomas replied, "Not sure for now, but the range is clear. It could only be a few major competitors—crews and companies behind 'Moneyball,' 'War Horse,' 'The Tree of Life,' 'The Descendants,' and such."

Martin had been through Oscar seasons multiple times and was well accustomed to it. He laughed and said, "The war has started."

Thomas said, "This year many believe it's a minor Oscar year, with everyone trying to snatch a piece of the cake. With Harvey going in last year, things were a bit calm, but it looks like the suppressed enthusiasm for awards from all sides wants to burst out this year."

Martin thought for a moment and asked, "How do you plan to respond?"

"There's no need to identify who's behind the scenes; all competitors are opponents." Thomas had already thought it through: "Bring all the competitors down, have everyone blacken each other, and when the standards are lowered to the same level, it won't matter who's up against who."

Upon hearing this, Martin found it reasonable and said, "Think of a way to pretend to be from the 'Moneyball' crew or someone associated with Matt Damon and get in touch with the media, then start defaming all the competitors, with Spielberg as the main focus."

"Spielberg?" Thomas was surprised at first, but then he understood, "That won't be difficult; we'll need Old Cloth's cooperation."

Bruce, who had been silent all along, asked, "What do you need me to do?"

......

"Hollywood Reporter," one of the two major North American entertainment publications, Los Angeles editorial office.

Bennett finished work and crossed the street, heading for the parking lot.

Ivan, in disguise, emerged from behind a billboard and said, "Editor-in-Chief Bennett, can we talk for a moment?"

Bennett, one of "Hollywood Reporter"'s senior editors in Los Angeles with considerable authority, glanced at the stranger beside him and said, "I don't know you, what do you want to discuss?"

"It's about the Oscars," Ivan stated directly. "A big deal."

"Hollywood Reporter" has significant influence in Hollywood, and during awards season, there's an incessant flow of people and companies buying ad space or secretly placing advertorials. Bennett pointed to the roadside café, "Let's talk inside."

They entered the café and found a secluded spot.

Without any superfluous words, Ivan took out printed documents from his bag and placed them on the table, "My employer hopes these will be published sequentially."

Bennett opened it and glanced over the content, which was all advertorial, with a check tucked in between.

Ivan directly asked, "Can these show up in the 'Hollywood Reporter'?"

After quickly skimming through the manuscripts, which were mostly smear articles targeting "The Martian," "War Horse," "The Tree of Life," and so on, with a single piece of flattering advertorial praising Matt Damon and his starring role in "Moneyball."

There were no issues with the content of these articles; traditional media were struggling nowadays, even for an entertainment industry heavyweight like the Hollywood Reporter. Bennett looked at the figure on the check and said, "I can assure you they'll start appearing in the next few days."

"It's a deal," Ivan said. "There will be many more deals like this, don't let me give my employer a bad report."

Bennett didn't ask further, just from reading the articles he knew who his employer was.

Apparently, Warner Bros. wanted "Moneyball" to contend for the Best Picture Oscar, and Matt Damon for the Best Actor Oscar.

Ivan didn't say more, stood up to leave, and while contacting his partner, he hurried off to the next deal.

After leaving the café, Bennett didn't head for the parking lot but returned to the editorial office to coordinate the publication of articles for the next day's newspaper.

The next morning, in cities like Los Angeles and New York, a multitude of newspapers began to unleash a barrage of scandalous and critical claims against Oscar hopefuls.

The articles criticized "War Horse" for its poor storytelling, lackluster performances, and director Spielberg's creative exhaustion, reduced to rehashing a single template for melodramatic films.

They blasted "The Martian" as nothing more than a Robinson Crusoe adrift story wrapped in a Martian and space veneer, devoid of any sincerity.

They ridiculed "Midnight in Paris" director Woody Allen as a clown, once again dragging his affair with his stepdaughter into the public eye.

Several contenders for the Oscars were slammed as utterly worthless.

Only "Moneyball" received high praise, becoming the sole good film in the eyes of these outlets.

Especially the lead actor, Matt Damon, was lauded to the heavens, and amidst the backdrop of a series of soft articles, appeared to be the most deserving of an award.

The media reports spread rapidly.

......

In Glendale, the headquarters of DreamWorks.

Though the reception to his recent films had been lackluster, and the media constantly claimed his ideas were outdated and his talent exhausted, 65-year-old Steven Spielberg was undeterred, hoping to claim more Oscars.

In addition to the newly released "War Horse," he was also preparing a movie with Lincoln as the lead character to make another run at the Oscars.

Spielberg had just arrived at work today when his assistant came in with news, "Boss, there's a lot of negative press about 'War Horse'."

"The papers," Spielberg said.

The assistant brought over several newspapers, and Spielberg flipped through them quickly.

"'War Horse' is filled with messy logic and unrestrained sentimentality; Spielberg really has gotten old. After all these years, he's still playing with the same overdone emotional manipulation."

"It's merely a children's movie, what artistic value does it have? Spielberg doesn't deserve an Oscar; he's nothing but a charlatan, trying once again to deceive the Oscars with an overly sentimental and bogus story..."

Spielberg's complexion turned sour as he was reminded of something that happened more than a decade ago.

This scene was oh-so similar to what had happened with "Saving Private Ryan," when the media went wild smearing him and the film, leading to the loss of one of the most important awards.

That Oscar ceremony was Spielberg's greatest humiliation.

Spielberg looked through other reviews of Oscar-contending films and said to his assistant, "Find out who's behind this."

The assistant immediately went to make calls.

Spielberg's influence was significant; it didn't take long for the assistant to return and report, "I got in touch with connections at the 'Hollywood Reporter,' 'People,' and 'Variety.' The contacts at the newspapers didn't recognize them, but judging from the interactions with internal staff there, the employer is likely Warner Bros. or Matt Damon."

Upon hearing this, Spielberg thought of a certain film, "Moneyball?"

The assistant confirmed, "That film is also a hot contender for the Oscars."

Spielberg had collaborated with Matt Damon once, but their relations had soured after that experience because Damon sided with Harvey Weinstein during the subsequent Oscar campaign.

It was even rumored that Damon relayed information he learned from the "Saving Private Ryan" set to Harvey Weinstein. Thus, Weinstein took the film's vulnerabilities, rallied a group of WWII veterans, and led a city-wide smear campaign against "Saving Private Ryan," causing DreamWorks to lose the Best Picture Oscar.

Matt Damon had a deep relationship with Harvey Weinstein, and using the media to smear competitors was Harvey's most common tactic...

Spielberg instructed his assistant, "Mobilize our contacts, fight back!"

The same scene was also unfolding in several other film crews' offices.

There was no need for a detailed investigation to find out who was behind it all; just look for who stood to gain.

Find the beneficiaries and hammer them to death!