The event that transpired was against Spider-Man 2. Even though NBC was the major TV network that spread the news, other small TV stations also tackled it.
Even news publishers printed articles related to the incident. In just one night, the news of Tobey Maguire beating a reporter spread so fast that even kindergartens heard about it.
This news would obviously affect Spider-Man 2 very very badly. The profit that Sony-Colombia could get from this project would decrease, perhaps even go down to negative.
Sony-Colombia couldn't accept that, they invested so much money in this project. They already invested more than $100 million in the movie and advertising. They would bleed too much if they backed down.
So immediately, Sony-Colombia retaliated to protect Tobey.
Besides, Tobey was the victim here. They have the upper hand in terms of law. They contacted GET TV to help them.
GET(Great Entertainment Television) was a national television channel that Sony-Colombia owned. Unfortunately, this channel was nothing compared to NBC. It didn't help much.
Sony-Colombia also contacted many newspapers to fix Tobey's image.
It was fortunate that Tobey had a security camera on his property and it recorded everything that happened.
The police also had a copy of the footage and they were trying to solve how the paparazzi infiltrated the neighborhood.
The news of Tobey Maguire beating a reporter became a sensation and many had complex opinions. Some believed that Tobey was the victim while the others felt bad with the reporter.
Universal took sympathy for the reporter who was still in the hospital "comatose" after the brutal torture he experienced from Tobey.
Sony-Colombia did its best to protect Tobey. Spreading the truth of what happened.
Smart people understood that Tobey was innocent. He was just trying to protect himself. The evidence was clear.
However the media was a powerful device that could hypnotize people.
Suddenly, two major studios joined in the battle!
Walt Disney started bashing Tobey Maguire. They acknowledged that Tobey was protecting himself, but they condemned his actions. In their opinion, Tobey shouldn't have hurt the reporter and talked to him peacefully instead. They said that Tobey couldn't control his anger. They also added that Tobey underwent anger management.
Disney's participation made it worse for Sony-Colombia... But that was not the end of their hardship.
Warner Brothers also joined in! With the power of Time Warner, one of the biggest media conglomerates in the world, they started spamming hateful news against Tobey Maguire!
There were only a few Media Conglomerates in the whole world and these Media Conglomerates basically controlled the media. News, TV Shows, Movies, Newspapers, and even the internet.
Time Warner, the mother company of Warner Brothers.
The Walt Disney Company.
Viacom, acquired Paramount in the 90s.
Sony, the mother company of Sony-Colombia.
Vivendi of Universal Pictures.
News Corporation of 20th Century Fox.
Perhaps the reason why the Big Six became the Big Six was because of their powerful backer.
And this time, these powerful backers were tearing each other... To be precise, three of them were trying to destroy Tobey's reputation while Sony-Colombia was trying its best to protect Tobey.
The outcome was obvious, even though Tobey was innocent. It was impossible to maintain his beautiful image as an amazing actor.
They started spreading news that Tobey had an anger problem. He also did drugs and he was not a good person.
His image as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man was crumbling. If this continued, Tobey might lose his position in the industry. He might have to leave Hollywood and hide his face.
Thankfully, the police announced that Tobey was innocent. With that, Sony-Colombia started issuing lawsuits to many companies just to shut them up.
But it was a bit difficult for the Big Three. They just wanted to destroy Tobey's reputation.
Even if Tobey was the victim. As long as they destroyed his reputation, then their mission was complete. Although they toned down their bashing, only focusing on his drug use and anger management.
Spider-Man grossed over $1 billion and the Big Three understood that this movie would be their hardest opponent this year. Since they had the opportunity to pull it down, they took the chance to do so.
As for 20th Century Fox and Paramount, the two big studios were quiet and didn't join the battle. They have cooperated with Kazir so they didn't join, this was the best that they could do.
Even though 20th Century Fox and Grey Pictures had a partnership, Spider-Man was a different thing. This movie couldn't bring them any profit.
As for Marvel Comics, well, they were also in a dilemma. Spider-Man was their character so they had to protect it. Unfortunately, they didn't have enough strength to do so. News Corporation helped them but not that much.
...
....
...
Barry Mayer stopped what he was doing when he heard surprising news from his secretary.
"I can't believe that I'll meet you today, Director Grey."
"Yeah, I apologize if I didn't make an appointment. I'm thankful that you gave me a chance to talk to you."
"Of course."
Barry Mayer nodded. He now held the reigns of Warner Brothers after Terry Semel left the company.
Being the leader of one of the biggest studios in the world, Barry couldn't close his door to the most profitable director of all time.
The two looked at each other. Barry had an idea why Kazir visited him. It was probably about the issue of Spider-Man 2. Warner Brothers was one of the studios that condemned Tobey Maguire's action.
Even though Tobey was proven to be innocent, people's opinions about him were not positive. Warner Brothers was partly responsible for that.
"Kazir, I know that you understand that this is competition. We are fighting for our benefits, I hope you understand that."
Obviously, Barry wanted to work with Kazir so he said it in a respectable tone. They might have a chance to work together, especially now that Warner Brothers wanted to create their own...
"I understand it very well."
"That's good to hear."
Barry sighed.
"That's why I will fight for my own benefits," Kazir replied. His gaze was clear and serious.
"Hm?"
"Batman."
"!!!" Barry's eyes slightly trembled.
"I will direct Batman. I heard that you guys are looking for a director. What about me, the most profitable director of the era."
"...*
Barry shut his mouth, but he couldn't control his heart from beating fast. This... This might be the biggest shock he received this year. Although 2004 was just getting started.
++++
[Aight, I'm cooking how to make Kazir the director of the Dark Knight Trilogy.]