From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Monday morning, the start of a busy week.

Office workers, one by one, dragged their heavy steps into the office building with a look of utter despair. Their struggling expressions resembled those of someone mounting the execution platform, reluctantly bidding farewell to the weekend. Every cell in their body resisted the idea of going to work, their souls seemingly left behind on the sofas of their apartments.

However, there was a small group of people who were exceptions—

All of them were young people. The collagen in their cheeks didn't lie, and their youthful eyes and smiles, uncorrupted by society, showcased their student status. They exuded vitality, still believing in tomorrow, still believing in dreams, still believing in life.

They gathered in small groups in front of the Sony Columbia office building.

Initially, there weren't many of them, looking like college students preparing for a trip to New York, who had simply chosen this place as a temporary meeting point.

Slowly, slowly, more and more people arrived. The bustling and curious gazes also gathered, forming a spectacle on the streets of New York.

In Manhattan, a small area was crowded with millions of people, the population density suffocating. But unless there was a special event, people wouldn't gather together, because everyone had their own busyness and their own world, and they were unwilling to stop for the lives of others.

Unless there was a special event.

So, what was going on here—

“…Yes, we've discussed it. We still need to make our voices heard in Los Angeles, but the focus is still here, after all, this is the headquarters,” Gloria nodded.

Elaine widened her eyes, “But, why? Isn't that where the filming base is? Even if we gather there, it won't have much impact. This is where the real higher-ups are, right?”

Sony Columbia had two main office bases, one in Los Angeles and one in New York.

The Los Angeles headquarters wasn't actually in Los Angeles, but in Culver City, which belonged to Los Angeles County. Like Burbank, it was a huge filming base. Sony Columbia owned multiple studios, so that headquarters was mainly responsible for film shooting.

The New York headquarters, on the other hand, was right here, on Madison Avenue, in the heart of New York City. This was the main processing center for Sony Columbia's affairs, as well as the location of the board of directors and senior management.

When Blair proposed that they should let Sony Columbia hear the voices of Anson's supporters, the question of whether to hold the event at the Los Angeles headquarters or the New York headquarters sparked much discussion.

As Elaine thought, since the real higher-ups and influential figures were all in New York, they should naturally go to New York.

Moreover, the Los Angeles headquarters was in the suburbs, and the news media might not even notice it. But the New York headquarters was in the city center of Manhattan, and every move could attract attention, which would create more waves.

Gloria shook her head, “The focus is on New York, but Los Angeles can't be forgotten.”

“That's a film shooting base, with countless producers, directors, actors, and industry professionals coming and going. We need to make the entire industry realize how powerful Anson's influence is.”

“If it's just in New York, it's just a protest, targeting Sony Columbia. Others might watch from the sidelines, not feeling the impact.”

“But with Los Angeles added…”

Gloria looked at Blair, who took over the conversation and continued.

“We can make the entire film industry realize what mistakes Sony Columbia has made. Not just this time, we need to plan for the long term to avoid similar situations from happening again in the future.”

“No matter what happens, we will stand behind Anson, but we won't allow this kind of thing to happen again and again.”

Elaine looked at Gloria, then at Blair, unable to say anything, only sighing, “Wow.”

Involuntarily, Elaine turned her head to the side, looking around, excitement and tension intertwined, “We must have more people come today.”

However, pedestrians passed by, stopped, and glanced at the scene with a numb expression, seemingly wondering what was happening here. But they gave up after a brief second, their brains automatically losing the ability to think on a working day, retracting their gazes and continuing forward expressionlessly.

The entire city was like a graveyard shrouded in the shadow of a steel forest.

Elaine withdrew her gaze and looked at her companions again, raising her hands high, making a magical girl transformation gesture, and flashing a big smile, “I have confidence!”

… …

Knock, knock.

Urgent knocking came. Michael Lynton was on a call with a member of the board of directors, and his already terrible mood was even more irritable.

But Michael remained calm, “…Don't worry, things are still under control. Now it's a battle of momentum. Whoever backs down first loses.”

Naturally, the board of directors treated Michael as a scapegoat, severely reprimanding him.

Anyway, replacing Anson or replacing Michael made no difference to the board of directors.

Michael: … …

Those idiots.

They believed everything they heard, panicking at the slightest disturbance, sitting high in the board of directors and gesticulating, but in reality, they didn't know anything.

As soon as the public opinion arose, they all lost their composure, flusteredly preparing to shirk responsibility. Some even retreated into their shells, condemning Michael for being too radical and saying they shouldn't have replaced Anson, worrying about the company's reputation before anything had even happened.

In Michael's view, the outside world was still gathering momentum, but the board of directors was already on fire. As a result, chaos was erupting everywhere, and he still had to help cover it up.

Who could imagine that the seemingly glamorous CEO was no different from a toilet cleaner?

Heh heh.

Michael used all his strength to barely control his anger, forcibly swallowing the curse words, adjusting his breathing and regaining his rationality.

The words he had just said were not a lie. Michael sincerely believed that things were still under control. The media seemed to be making a lot of noise, but in reality, they were all paper tigers, and the direction of public opinion could change at any time.

The more critical the situation, the more calm one needed to be.

Wait, wait patiently, and after the situation turned around, those old guys on the board of directors would obediently lean over again. Did they still want to rely on Amy?

The success of "Spider-Man" was pure luck and had nothing to do with Amy. The future of Sony Columbia was not Amy, and the board of directors should realize this.

Michael calmed down and said loudly.

“Come in.”