So, five hundred million was already a considerable investment for Dragon Soul Company. In case this movie failed, Louise couldn't help but feel a sense of darkness looming over the company's future.
After years of hard work to reach their current position, making a wrong move would lead them down an irreversible path.
Seeing Louise's nervousness, Laila couldn't help but laugh, "Louise, did you forget who I am? I am Laila Moran, and I never fail! Never!"
Confidence is a good thing, but Louise lacked it.
Five hundred million! It wasn't just five dollars! What if they incurred losses? She wanted to believe in Laila's ability to earn several billion back, but the current situation seemed off. Moreover, there was also a bet with Michael Bay, right? Could they handle it so casually?
"The signs of resistance have already begun to appear. If we don't actively respond, and if something else happens in the meantime, explaining ourselves will be impossible."
Hollywood was never a purely clean place; it had gray areas since its inception. Those who had seen "The Godfather" knew that besides those in the film industry, the Mafia also manipulated the Oscars behind the scenes.
The company had progressed too fast, earned too much, and had become the object of jealousy in many people's eyes. If that jealousy turned into resentment, no one knew what might happen. If a boycott truly occurred and someone took drastic actions against those boycotting, resulting in bloodshed, the blame would fall on whose shoulders? It was evident that the "culprits" couldn't escape condemnation.
Laila leaned back in her chair, hands leisurely crossed in front of her chest, "You're right. But have you considered that even if there's a so-called boycott, we are fundamentally powerless."
"Powerless?" Louise widened her eyes as if she couldn't believe these words were coming from Laila's mouth. Wasn't she someone who never let anything bother her and handled everything with ease? Now, to say they were powerless, was a bit too alarming.
Laila innocently shrugged, "Indeed, powerless. If they want to boycott, should we physically restrain them from doing so? Although I have enough money to support such actions, it feels like it would only make things messier."
"Of course, it would be messier!" That wasn't handling the situation; that would be committing a crime! Louise massaged her temples, "But we can't just sit back and do nothing when we know something might happen!"
Laila chuckled, "So, how do you think we should handle it?"
"For example, explain to the media, tell them that we chose Eastern scenery because it's beautiful, and the Eastern actor is no ordinary person; he's a critically acclaimed actor, a film emperor in Asia. This should help the situation a bit, right?"
"Hmm." Laila nodded, "You make sense. Doing that can make some people accept our explanation. But do you really think this boycott is spontaneously organized by the book fans?"
Louise fell silent. Even a fool knew that this matter was manipulated behind the scenes. Otherwise, why would the media act as if they had a vendetta against them, all standing against them? The problem was, that they didn't know who the puppeteer behind the scenes was, or whether it was a coalition of many people tripping them up. Unable to find any clues, resolving this matter thoroughly became an impossible task.
Considering the provocations from the person behind the scenes, it was likely not just an attempt to scare them; the most probable outcome was that this resistance fire would continue burning until the movie's release date.
If there were no bet with Michael Bay, perhaps the losses could be more easily accepted. But with this bet, if Laila truly lost, all the efforts she had made would disappear, and everything would become the glory surrounding Michael Bay.
It might sound funny, but this was Hollywood, this was the entertainment industry. Either you step on others to rise, or you get stepped on. No matter how talented a director is, once they fail, they become a person with blemishes. By that time, the miracles Laila created since her debut would be forcibly dimmed in Michael Bay's radiance.
"So, what should we do?" Louise didn't know how to handle it. "I've tried finding people to investigate, but many attempts yielded no potential candidates."
With her decades of networking in Hollywood, if she couldn't find anyone, it showed how well-hidden this person was.
And hadn't Laila herself tried to find the culprit?
She had always felt that there was a hidden hand manipulating things behind her. It would emerge from time to time to stir up trouble or add fuel to the fire around her. Even someone with a good temper would become angry when poked and prodded like this at irregular intervals.
Back when Roy was framed, and she was chased almost causing an accident, as well as many other incidents, the hand of someone hidden in the shadows was evident. Perhaps initially, Laila didn't pay much attention to this person, but after so many incidents, she had to take it seriously.
Unfortunately, even when she took it seriously, she still hadn't found any flaws in the person hiding in the shadows, let alone discover their identity. She had long ago asked Xiao ye to secretly investigate this matter, but even now, he hadn't brought her any good news, showing how deeply the other party was concealed.
"If we can't find them, there's nothing we can do. I believe the fox will always show its tail." She looked at Louise, "First, contact the media you have on hand, explain the Eastern scenes, and share more pictures I took."
"No problem. But what about Mr. Leslie? Don't we need to explain about him too?"
Laila pondered for a moment, "No need. It's not the right time for him to come out yet. For now, let's suppress any news related to him. I'll wait for a more suitable opportunity to let him appear to the public."
After some hesitation, Louise finally nodded, "Alright, I know what to do."
In her opinion, filming in the East wasn't a big deal. After all, the landscapes in the East weren't nonexistent in other Western countries, even if they might not be as magnificent or visually appealing. However, the issue of the Eastern actor was something she couldn't get over. She genuinely couldn't understand Laila's thought process, as she believed the Eastern actor was entirely dispensable.
Ultimately, she could only explain this by assuming Laila wanted to leverage the actor's fame to compete for the Asian box office, especially in the vast lands of the East.
"Iron Man" had unbelievably high box office numbers in the East, surpassing even Japan and Korea, known for having significant box office potential. Laila might be valuing that region, hence the decision to bring in an Eastern actor didn't seem too perplexing.
Perhaps Laila hadn't anticipated that things would become so complicated. The fact that there is even a boycott now is something she might not have foreseen.