Director in Hollywood

Angelina Jolie had a big mouth literally and her tone matched it: loud and reckless with her words.

At the premiere of Tomb Raider, she said that Tomb Raider would definitely beat America's Sweetheart, which was still within the bounds of normal competition.

But what really blew things up came afterward: Angelina Jolie mentioned Julia Roberts' pet snake and said the creature made her feel sick.

While Hollywood was no stranger to feuds between actresses, one this overt and publicly instigated was a first for the media.

Even a clay figurine has some fire in it, let alone Julia Roberts, the hottest Hollywood star since the 1990s.

Julia Roberts hit back immediately, bringing up Angelina Jolie's pet tarantula.

And so the two women launched a war of words through the media it was lively and dramatic. The public devoured the drama, and the gossip outlets had plenty to report. Everyone was happy.

Catherine Zeta-Jones didn't get involved in the bizarre pet war, but Angelina Jolie clearly wasn't going to spare her, either. She took aim at Zeta-Jones' history of seducing older men.

This time Catherine Zeta-Jones couldn't hold back. She fired back with dirt on Angelina Jolie's exes, especially her taboo relationship with her own brother.

This completely blew the public's mind. So you're all into this kind of stuff? Tell us more—we're listening…

Angelina Jolie's original intention had been to use the drama to grab attention and funnel that hype into her movie. But she couldn't control where public opinion went, and things quickly spiraled out of control.

The distributors of both films, seeing that they couldn't rein it in, decided to go all in.

Paramount, the distributor of Tomb Raider, unleashed its media affiliates to dig up dirt on Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Catherine Zeta-Jones' scandals were relatively mild: mostly just sad tales of her relationships with older men.

She had heartlessly abandoned one older man to pursue a Hollywood career, and after failing to seduce Gilbert, she moved on to another older guy.

Julia Roberts' scandals were a bit more intense: reports of drug use, dating five or six boyfriends at once, and even living with two of them simultaneously.

But even combining their negative press couldn't match the bombshells dropped about Angelina Jolie. The reason was simple Gilbert had the backing of Warner and Disney media arms.

Before Tomb Raider even premiered, a film starring Anne Hathaway, Legally Blonde, had hit theaters and pulled in $22.546 million in its opening weekend.

For a chick flick, that was an excellent debut. If its box office trend held up, it could very well break $100 million in North America.

And Anne Hathaway? She was Gilbert's woman.

Yet Angelina Jolie had the audacity to drag Anne Hathaway into the mess, prompting the media to fabricate all sorts of fake stories.

If Angelina Jolie wasn't taught a harsh lesson, it would be an insult to Gilbert's reputation as Hollywood's rabid husky biting everyone in sight.

So without warning, media outlets backed by three major studios began attacking Angelina Jolie, exposing scandal after scandal.

Banana's gossip site was the first to act, revealing that Angelina Jolie had kissed her brother James Haven on the lips at last year's Oscars.

Old interviews in which Jolie called her brother the love of her life were also unearthed, dramatically increasing public disgust toward her.

Then Sony Columbia Pictures gratefully accepted this gift, with their gossip rags publishing photos of Jolie using drugs in her younger days.

One source recalled, "One time, Angelina asked me to deliver the stuff to her home. When she opened the door, she looked pale, and her arms were covered in needle marks.

I asked to take a photo, and she didn't really care…"

And that wasn't the end of it. Another source claimed he had slept with Angelina Jolie, and that Jolie had compared him to Billy Bob Thornton in terms of size.

Angelina said Billy Bob looked small at first, but once she'd tried him, she realized he was built like a horse.

The same man also claimed Jolie had given him a tour of her love nest with Billy Bob.

The place was painted in a wash of red and black hues, and they even built a dungeon just for sex. Jolie would play all kinds of roles inside.

When the two married, they made pendants out of each other's blood as symbols of their love. Jolie even tattooed Billy's name on the most visible part of her arm.

If this kind of news broke about any female celebrity in China, her career would be completely finished.

However, the nerves of the North American public had long been toughened by the debaucheries of Hollywood stars, so they could still accept it.

But if the above news was already shocking, then the report from a tabloid that followed truly stunned everyone.

This tabloid claimed that Angelina Jolie once seduced her mother's boyfriend and ended up sleeping with him. When Jolie's mother found out, the two had a huge fight.

Angelina Jolie reportedly knelt down and cried, begging her mother for forgiveness. Her mother forgave her, and the three even lived together for a while afterward...

Once this story was released, the public was in an uproar, and it did affect many fans' choices.

Although there are endless scandals among Hollywood stars, mainstream North American society is still rather conservative in its values.

Most people apply double standards when judging themselves and others. Too much negative press can influence a lot of people's decisions.

There are plenty of scumbag stars in Hollywood, but few are as outrageous as Angelina Jolie.

Although Angelina Jolie and Paramount launched an emergency PR campaign, it was of no use Tomb Raider didn't meet expectations.

In fact, Tomb Raider felt more like a film made purely for fans, but even many fans didn't like it.

This dislike stemmed from the public's aversion toward Angelina Jolie—the negative press had affected them.

This turned out to be great news for America's Sweethearts and Legally Blonde—the market space Tomb Raider left behind was dominated by these two films.

Since September 11, the film market had gradually been recovering from the blow dealt on that day.

These two comedy films, undoubtedly, were very well received by North American audiences.

At that moment, North American moviegoers definitely didn't want to see any explosive action flicks—the sight alone reminded them of the terrifying events of September 11.

While Angelina's scandal was blowing up, Gilbert and his crew were in Ann Arbor, Michigan, filming.

"Boss, Ms. Jolie and Billy Bob sent an invitation—they'd like to invite you to dinner..." Anna handed an invitation letter to Gilbert.

During a break on set, Gilbert was gazing at a nearby stream, considering whether he should grab a rod and go fishing.

"What? Those two haven't divorced yet?" Gilbert asked with a smile.

Sipping hot coffee nearby, Scarlett remarked, "I don't think it'll be long now. After all that, they're still together? Billy Bob probably finds Jolie disgusting at this point."

"Not necessarily…" the old man chimed in knowingly. "Maybe Billy Bob is into that sort of thing. The guy's not right in the head."

These Hollywood A-listers and top directors, always under the spotlight, suffer tremendous pressure. As a result, many develop rather strange hobbies.

For instance, rumors of Jolie and Billy Bob doing role-play have been circulating for ages. Even now, gossip sites still feature pictures of Jolie wearing a cowboy hat and collar, posing like a dog!

Gilbert knew this invitation was Billy Bob's attempt to make peace via Angelina Jolie.

But Gilbert had no interest in dining with them, so he instructed, "Decline the invitation. Tell them I'm busy, no time."

"Boss, I'm afraid they might show up on set…" Anna added.

Filming schedules weren't exactly confidential. Just a couple of days ago, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman had brought their daughter to visit the set.

As Suri's godfather, Gilbert had even kicked out Solomon's daughter, who was originally cast, and let Suri play the role of young Jolie in the film.

Solomon even called to complain, saying his daughter was fully prepared. But once he learned it was Tom Cruise's daughter in the role, he immediately dropped the issue.

Gilbert also promised Solomon that he'd find a chance for his daughter to appear in another film later on.

Regarding the issue of set visits, Gilbert was direct: "From now on, the crew will be shooting under closed conditions. Spread the word—no visitors allowed."

"Won't that be…" Anna sounded concerned.

The old man stepped in, "What's there to be afraid of? Billy Bob? A second-rate indie film director-producer? What does he have to go up against Gilbert?"

Anna thought about it and agreed. Her boss was the famous Gilbert of Hollywood—why should they be worried about Billy Bob?

When Gilbert refused to meet them, Billy Bob said to Angelina Jolie, "There's nothing we can do now. We can only hope time will smooth over the bad press."

Angelina Jolie's expression was cold: "If I had been with Gilbert, would any of this have happened?"

Billy Bob disagreed: "Hard to say if Gilbert would even go for you. The women around him are considered saints in the Hollywood scene.

Gilbert definitely wouldn't be interested in you, especially not now."

"Hmph, saints? Sluts, more like. They act all prim and proper for Gilbert's sake. They know exactly what kind of women he likes.

Without Gilbert, their behavior would probably be even filthier than mine." Angelina Jolie was full of venom.

Billy Bob shook his head. It was clear that Jolie had gone off the deep end. Nothing he said now would make a difference—better let her cool off.

This Hollywood catfight between several top actresses had truly ripped apart the glamorous facade, exposing its dirty underside to the public.

As the public devoured the drama, they suddenly noticed why didn't anyone target Gilbert or the women around him with negative news?

Was there really nothing to dig up? Or was everyone too afraid?

Now that was something worth pondering…

.....

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