novelraw Chapter 628 628: Threats and Counter-Threats, Parting on Bad Terms
Chapter 628 628: Threats and Counter-Threats, Parting on Bad Terms
[Chapter 628: Threats and Counter-Threats, Parting on Bad Terms]
Linton pondered for a long time before finally accepting the invitation, preparing to meet this mysterious Kabbalah organization and see what tricks they could pull.
Of course, for the sake of the Oscar Best Actor award, he didn't mind agreeing to some insignificant cooperation. However, if they tried to demand the world from him or even tried to manipulate him, then they couldn't blame him for flipping the table.
The next afternoon, two luxury cars arrived discreetly at a manor halfway up the mountain in the southeast corner of Beverly Hills. Four armed guards stood at the main gate.
Only after Harvey rolled down the window and presented the invitation were the vehicles smoothly allowed to pass and drive inside.
This was an incredibly large manor, much larger than Linton's own estate in Beverly Hills, filled with lush trees and neatly manicured green lawns.
The main building in the center was a large three-story structure. Its exterior featured simple lines, yet it exuded a thick air of mysticism.
The outer walls and even the glass walls were covered in abstract symbols of ram horns and shields, which radiated an inexplicable aura under the reflection of the sunlight.
Someone was already waiting downstairs to welcome them. Seeing Linton get out of the car, they stepped forward very enthusiastically, but unfortunately, Linton didn't recognize any of them. None of the Council of Elders members Harvey had mentioned showed their faces.
Just this scene alone made Linton very displeased. It seemed this Kabbalah was truly arrogant; did they really think they were superior to everyone else?
The other party warmly welcomed Linton's group into the building and invited Linton to the second floor to meet with all the members of the Council of Elders, but they firmly insisted that Harvey, Nick, and the other bodyguards remain in the first-floor reception room.
Allowing only Linton to go upstairs made him even more unhappy, and he already mentally crossed Kabbalah off his list.
...
Upon arriving at the second-floor conference room, at least the layout was relatively normal. It was a large round-table conference room where thirteen people were already seated. Each had a nameplate in front of them, and there was an empty seat near the door with a nameplate bearing his name.
Linton recognized all thirteen of these people. As Harvey had said, they were all illustrious big shots in Hollywood.
There was Sumner Redstone, the owner of Viacom Group; Michael Eisner, the chairman of Disney; Rupert Murdoch, the owner of News Corporation; and Kevin Tsujihara, the president of Warner Bros.
Also present were Wallace John, Senior Vice President of Sony Columbia; Kavi Sglitt, President of MGM Pictures; Martin Bob, President of CAA; Hristo Tis, President of WMA; and the remaining few included Galil Alves, President of the ICM talent agency.
There was Jason Morima, President of the Hollywood Screen Actors Guild; Steve Smith, General Manager of the Los Angeles Times; Edward Green, President of Variety; and Frank Baker, the rotating President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Anyone else would have felt a sense of nervousness meeting these people, but unfortunately, in Linton's eyes, they were nothing.
Seeing Linton enter, only Hristo Tis, the President of WMA, stood up. He walked to the door, extended both hands, and said warmly, "Linton, welcome."
After shaking hands with him, Linton glanced indifferently at the others who remained seated. "It seems you're the only one here who welcomes me. Let's find another time to grab a coffee. Farewell."
The others had originally planned to give Linton a subtle show of strength to gain a psychological advantage for the upcoming negotiations.
In fact, it was a simple compliance test. As long as Linton followed the usher's arrangement and sat in the conference room seat, he would naturally be at a psychological disadvantage, signaling that he had a desperate need for their Oscar. This would give them more leverage in the subsequent negotiations.
They just didn't expect Linton to not follow the usual path at all. He ignored them completely and was actually about to turn around and leave.
Now, no one could stay seated. Everyone stood up, and Redstone quickly left his seat, hurried over to Linton, and grabbed his hand, saying,
"Linton, what are you saying? We went to great lengths to invite you; how could we not welcome you? Please, sit, sit."
The others slowly walked to the door and greeted him one after another. "Mr. Anderson, welcome. Please take a seat."
After some back-and-forth, Linton eventually stayed. He also wanted to see what these people were actually up to.
...
Once they entered the conference room and sat down, Linton didn't want to beat around the bush. He directly took the initiative and said, "Gentlemen, you've gone to a lot of trouble to invite me here. Just state your purpose plainly."
These people were originally full of confidence, thinking they could easily manipulate Linton. They hadn't expected the rhythm to be completely thrown off from the moment Linton entered the room. However, those who could appear here were all veterans; none of them hadn't experienced various schemes and calculations, and they quickly regained their composure.
Redstone was still the one to speak. "Linton, we heard you are campaigning for this year's Oscar Best Actor, is that right?"
Linton saw no need to hide it. "Yes, I am indeed striving for it. And I feel that with the market influence of Titanic and my performance in the film, winning the oscar best actor award is entirely well-deserved."
"True, the influence of Titanic is indeed massive, and your performance is commendable. But there are quite a few competitive candidates this year, such as Jack Nicholson, Robert Duvall, Dustin Hoffman, and so on. These veteran stars all have very excellent works."
"Is that so? Then let everyone compete fairly and see what the judges choose in the end. However, I believe most judges will agree with me."
Frank Baker, the rotating President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, took over the conversation and said, "Linton, don't underestimate those other veteran stars. In fact, in my view, compared to them, your advantage is the smallest."
"Really?"
"Of course. First of all, Titanic is not an art film. While your performance in it is commendable, it doesn't reach an especially stunning level. At most, it's just top-tier for a commercial film.
I've seen the films of Jack Nicholson, Robert Duvall, and Dustin Hoffman. To be honest, their performances in their films are not inferior to yours at all; they are only stronger.
More importantly, you are a super idol star and have never made an art (award-chasing) film. Which of the thousands of Oscar judges has had a career as smooth as yours? Which of them hasn't struggled and worked hard in art films?
I know you are working hard on campaigning with the Oscar judges, but the others aren't idling either.
Tell me, under normal circumstances, who would they choose?"
Linton knew he was telling the truth. Commercial films had always been disliked by Oscar judges, and the Academy's judges looked down on idol stars, especially handsome male stars and young, beautiful female stars.
They all hoped to see stars torment themselves and subvert their images for the sake of an award, calling it sacrificing for art. Such stars were more likely to win the recognition of Oscar judges and take home the big prizes.
For example, in his previous life, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet gained nothing in this particular Oscar ceremony; Leonardo DiCaprio didn't even get a nomination. It was only later, after being tormented in various art films and making himself fat and ugly, that he finally won Oscar Best Actor. Charlize Theron was in a similar situation.
However, Linton was not Leonardo DiCaprio, after all. He wasn't just a star; he was also a great director, the big boss of a media group, and a billionaire. His influence was not something a common Hollywood star could compare to.
Furthermore, he had spent a fortune on Harvey for powerful public relations, and he himself had lowered his stature to personally attend various parties. Under these circumstances, he didn't believe he would lose.
Thinking of this, he smiled and said, "Then let the judges vote fairly."
What was going on? Wasn't Linton very persistent about the Oscar Best Actor? Shouldn't he be taking the initiative to seek their help at this time? Why did he seem not to care at all?
Seeing that Linton was not following their routine at all, everyone was a bit dazed. Things seemed a bit off; Linton was completely deviating from their script. The group looked at each other, and Redstone continued to speak,
"Linton, actually, if you really want to win the Oscar Best Actor, there is another way that can ensure you get your wish."
"What way?"
"That is for us to help you. As long as we help you, there will absolutely be no accidents regarding the Oscar Best Actor."
Frank Baker also spoke up again, "That's right. As long as we help you, there will be no problem with whatever awards you want to win at this year's Oscars."
"Is that so? Then Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress — I want all of these awards. Can you do that too?"
Frank Baker hesitated for a moment but still guaranteed with full confidence, "Of course. I can guarantee that as long as we are willing, there will be no accidents."
Linton knew the real meat of the conversation was coming and deliberately cooperated by asking, "What do you want in exchange for helping me?"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, after going in a circle, things were back on track. Everyone looked at Redstone together, clearly letting him set the conditions.
Redstone cleared his throat and took up the topic. "Linton, actually, we sincerely invited you here today to cooperate with us. We hope you can join us."
"Join you? What do you mean?"
"Linton, what do you think of us jewish people?"
"Sumner, don't beat around the bush. Speak plainly."
"Fine, then I'll be direct. We have two conditions we hope you will agree to."
"Two conditions? Let's hear them."
"The first condition is that we hope you will change your faith, taking Judaism as your sole belief and wholeheartedly believing in God Yahweh.
The second condition is that we hope you can marry one of our Jewish girls. There are many very excellent Jewish girls; every Family represented here has very outstanding juniors.
Whether in the New York financial circles or the Washington political circles, we jewish people have very excellent girls. Even among Hollywood stars, there are very beautiful Jewish girls, like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Natalie Portman, and so on.
Don't worry, we won't interfere in who specifically you choose; we only require that she be a Jewish girl. Of course, after marriage, you must completely break off with those previous female companions."
It was exactly as Harvey had expected: these people wanted to turn him into a Jew. But changing his faith and interfering in his marriage, even making him dissolve his Harem...
How was that possible? Every single one of these things touched his bottom line; there was no way he would agree.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Redstone, I cannot do either of your two conditions."
"Why? Don't you think we jewish people are the most noble race in the world? Isn't having the chance to join us a blessing from heaven? A gift from God?"
"Haha, keep those self-praising words for your own amusement. I make my own decisions regarding my faith and my marriage; I don't need you to worry about them."
CAA President Martin Bob couldn't suppress his anger and said, "Linton, you are looking down on us jewish people."
"In my heart, whether it's jewish people, Anglo-Saxons, or Native Americans, whether they are white, black, or yellow, everyone is equal. No one is more noble than another."
There was nothing wrong with those words, but they caused many faces in the conference room to change drastically. Martin raised his voice even higher and said, "Linton, you have a lot of nerve, actually comparing us noble jewish people to lowly Native Americans and black pigs."
Linton didn't indulge him and said coldly, "Is that so? Do you have the guts to say that in a public setting?"
Redstone stopped the furious Martin and said to Linton, "Linton, are you really not going to consider accepting our conditions?"
Linton wasn't planning on staying any longer. "I'm sorry, your conditions lack any sincerity and are far beyond my bottom line. Farewell."
Frank Baker said loudly, "Linton, you should be clear: if you leave like this, I guarantee that this year's Oscar Best Actor will be completely out of your reach."
Martin also chimed in, "Not just the Oscar Best Actor — all awards for Titanic and the awards for other personnel in your company will be a total failure this time."
Linton glanced at everyone. "Gentlemen, is this a threat?"
Frank Baker said, "Yes, you can understand it that way."
The others remained silent, but the expressions on their faces very clearly showed their attitude. This was the Kabbalah Council of Elders, and this was everyone's unanimous stance.
After a full minute, Redstone spoke again. "Linton, I still hope you consider it carefully. Actually, your joining us is a win-win situation."
Linton laughed. "Are you overestimating yourselves? The full name of the Oscars is the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards, not some Jewish award. As far as I know, among the 6,000-plus judges, fewer than 30% are jewish people."
Frank Baker took over the conversation. "Linton, you don't need to doubt it; we have absolute control over the Oscars."
"Then what about the openness, fairness, freedom, competition, art, and authority that the Oscars advocate? Where do you put the spirit of the Oscars?"
Frank Baker was silent for a while before saying, "Those are important, of course, but as long as we have a need, all rules can be completely broken."
Martin also laughed. "To think you're a big capitalist and yet you still believe in these empty words meant to fool the public."
The words of Frank and Martin completely tore off the hypocritical mask of these people.
Linton couldn't be bothered to argue with them anymore and slightly released his Aura toward the group.
Everyone immediately felt an icy pressure overwhelming them. They felt only endless cold and suffocation, shivering in their chairs. They even felt as if they had been stripped naked and thrown into the freezing Arctic, liable to freeze to death at any moment.
After half a minute, Linton withdrew his Aura. He was worried that if he continued, a few of the old geezers inside might drop dead on the spot.
Just when everyone thought they were finished, the pressure suddenly eased, and they came back to life. They all instinctively began to breathe rapidly and deeply, while feeling their entire bodies soaked with the cold sweat of fear.
While they were in a state of terror and felt an inexplicable fear in their hearts, Linton's arrogant voice reached their ears,
"Gentlemen, today you've let me see your shameless faces. However, I also have something to say first: feel free to use any competitive means within the rules. But if anyone dares to openly violate the rules to deal with me, don't blame me for the conseqeunces. Farewell."
*****
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