Chapter 286: You Changed My Fate

"Is this talking about Keanu Reeves, the lead actor in The Matrix? Is he really this terrible?"

On a path at the California Institute of Technology, a man and a woman—clearly a couple—were discussing the gossip they had just read.

"I think his personal life is a complete mess," the man said.

The girl shook her head, crumpling the newspaper in her hands into a ball.

"I actually felt bad that he hasn't had a good project these past few years," she said. "Now I think he deserves to hit rock bottom."

This was one of the most influential gossip weeklies in the country, and today it featured a heavyweight scandal.

"The Hidden Side of a Hollywood Star—Keanu Reeves's Double Life On and Off Camera!"

The gossip piece was a blatant hit on Keanu Reeves. It heavily focused on his history of drug abuse, exaggerating that he was still actively using heroin. It claimed he had thrown a massive fit on set with Duke over his addiction—which was technically true, except they transplanted an incident from the set of Speed to the set of The Matrix. It also accused him of abandoning his severely ill younger sister. Almost everything in it was negative.

The writer was incredibly seasoned, blending eighty percent truth with twenty percent fabrication. For instance, Reeves had indeed been an addict, but he had kicked the habit after the death of River Phoenix.

Similarly, his sister was genuinely suffering from a severe illness, and due to his work schedule, it was true he didn't visit her often. However, the article completely ignored the fact that Reeves personally bankrolled her exorbitant medical expenses and ensured she received the best care available.

The media pushing this negative press naturally glossed over any redeeming human qualities, choosing instead to zero in on the scandal.

The media could guide public opinion, and gossip tabloids were no exception. The real target of whoever was pushing this story wasn't actually Keanu Reeves.

"Didn't you say you wanted to see The Matrix?" the girl asked her boyfriend. "I don't think that's a good idea anymore. We shouldn't watch a movie starring someone like that."

Over the following hours, more outlets republished the story and started digging for additional dirt on Keanu Reeves. These included media closely tied to DreamWorks and Sony Columbia, centrist players like Walt Disney and Twentieth Century Fox, and, of course, the countless tabloids that lived for the chase.

Walt Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, and Universal Pictures didn't have much direct competition with The Matrix. Still, very few would pass up the chance to watch a rival studio stumble while simultaneously grabbing eyeballs and boosting paper sales.

Duke and Warner Brothers knew exactly what was happening: someone was targeting the lead actor to drag down The Matrix. They reacted immediately.

First, they had Keanu Reeves and his sister step forward to debunk the rumors, then mobilized their own media allies to build momentum. Duke also made a public statement supporting Reeves, outright refuting the malicious claims.

"Keanu is the most grounded actor I've ever met," Duke declared. "He doesn't act like a star at all. He eats, dresses, and lives just like a regular person. During the most intense periods of filming, he asked for time off several times just to visit his sister. If he's an irresponsible brother, then there isn't a responsible brother left in the world!"

The hostile media didn't spare Duke either, but outside of his playboy reputation and private life, there was very little to criticize. And as far as the public and Hollywood were concerned, his love life had never been an issue.

After all, he wasn't stupid enough to go after his own step-granddaughter like Morgan Freeman.

This was the grand gift Warner Brothers had prepared for their competitor, Deep Impact!

After going all out to clear Keanu Reeves's name, the gossip rags under Time Warner dropped a bombshell scandal of their own. It effortlessly snatched everyone's attention, making the drama around Reeves seem utterly trivial in comparison.

"Morgan Freeman Commits Incest With 16-Year-Old Granddaughter!"

The horrifying headline shocked the entire country. The veteran actor had always been a representative figure for Black actors in Hollywood, practically the very definition of a Black gentleman!

The report detailed the illicit relationship between Morgan Freeman and E'Dena Hines, the step-granddaughter from his second marriage. It claimed that the famous Black star had been eyeing her since she was in her early teens and finally got his hands on her the previous year. The article gave a vivid, graphic description of how the two had sex in a California hotel, putting the sheer ruthlessness of the tabloid press on full display.

In this country, a massive actor scandal wouldn't necessarily stop a movie from being released. The problem, however, was that this kind of boundary-crossing incest directly challenged the bottom line of mainstream society and the public. American society hadn't yet reached the point of being numb to the endless barrage of online scandals that would define the future.

Even though the story broke via the tabloids, Morgan Freeman was instantly thrust into the eye of the storm.

The veteran Black star was no fool. He immediately came forward to deny the allegations. The next day, not only did multiple outlets publish his rebuttal, but his lawyer also announced that they would be suing the offending newspapers and magazines for defamation.

However, for Warner to dare launch a counterattack like this, they had naturally come prepared with concrete evidence.

Sometimes, dumping all the dirt at once didn't yield the most explosive results. A continuous, rolling bombardment was often far more effective.

Less than an hour after Morgan Freeman's lawyer made the announcement, the Yahoo Website's entertainment section dropped an even bigger bombshell: Freeman's former nanny testified that the incestuous relationship was real...

By that evening, Fox Television's entertainment channel took it a step further, broadcasting security footage from the previous year. The video clearly showed Morgan Freeman and E'Dena Hines walking into a hotel room one after the other, only emerging nearly two hours later.

That was more than enough. Even if Morgan Freeman could come up with a thousand explanations for what they were doing in that room, he couldn't extinguish the public's burning thirst for gossip or hold back the mainstream media's limits of tolerance. The tabloids might have no bottom line, but mainstream outlets always saw it as their duty to police the nation and society's morals.

In just a single night, all the media outlets that had been relentlessly attacking Keanu Reeves pivoted to chasing the Morgan Freeman scandal. Even the publication that first broke the Reeves story redirected its best paparazzi and reporters to camp out on Freeman's doorstep.

Among them, Fox Television's entertainment channel brought out the big guns again, parking a live broadcast van right in front of Morgan Freeman's house.

"Why did the media tied to the Big Six Companies react so fast?"

In the living room, Tina Fey sat with Duke, watching the live broadcast on Fox Television.

"And why are they so enthusiastic?" she asked. "Especially Sony Columbia. Aren't they collaborating with DreamWorks?"

"DreamWorks is dead set on expanding and becoming a new giant. But expanding means stepping on the toes of the established powers," Duke replied.

Where you stood determined what you saw. Since Duke planned to groom Tina Fey, he decided to give her a clearer explanation.

"The rise of any new power inevitably shatters the old balance," he said. "Over the past few decades in Hollywood, we've only seen giants die; we haven't seen any major new powers rise."

"To a certain extent, the competition between the Big Six Companies is an internal conflict among the traditional powers," he continued. "But DreamWorks jumping into the fray makes it an external conflict. When the time is right, the traditional powers will always unite to suppress DreamWorks, just like they're doing now."

To put it bluntly, Morgan Freeman was just an excuse and a sacrificial lamb for the Big Six Companies to hammer DreamWorks.

Tina Fey quickly worked out the connections.

"What if our Duke Studio expands in the future?" she asked tentatively.

"Either we get acquired by Warner Brothers or another studio," Duke answered without a second's hesitation, "or we face the exact same situation as DreamWorks, or bankrupt outfits like Carolco Pictures and Orion Pictures."

"So that's why we need to cooperate so deeply with Warner?" Tina Fey nodded in understanding.

"Tina, you've been in this circle for a while now. You should be able to see it," Duke said, his eyes drifting back to the TV screen.

Countless paparazzi and reporters were harassing a worker who had just come out to throw away the trash at Morgan Freeman's house.

"Some problems simply can't be solved by making a box office hit!" he added.

Take DreamWorks, for example. Deep Impact was the perfect popcorn movie for the summer season. But the moment Warner tossed out the bait, the other factions immediately swarmed in to suppress them. Morgan Freeman's scandal wouldn't deal a fatal blow to the film, but it would definitely influence the choices of a massive number of moviegoers, causing a noticeable dent in the box office.

DreamWorks had a certain level of power at this stage, but when faced with a siege from traditional juggernauts backed by massive conglomerates like Time Warner, News Group, Viacom, and Sony Entertainment, they were completely defenseless. Morgan Freeman was doomed to be haunted by this scandal for years, and Deep Impact was doomed to be dragged down by its key star.

From the ordeal DreamWorks, Deep Impact, and Morgan Freeman had endured over just a single day, Duke could deduce his own future. If he became too ambitious and ignorantly tried to expand Duke Studio based purely on excellent films and decent capital, he would face crushing suppression. Breaking into the top tier of Hollywood power wasn't something that movies alone could achieve.

Over the next two days, the mainstream media backed by the Big Six Companies joined the ranks criticizing and hyping up the Morgan Freeman scandal. The veteran Black star became a nationwide sensation faster than ever before. Warner Brothers and the others took advantage of the momentum to work behind the scenes, doing everything in their power to suppress Deep Impact.

Suppressing DreamWorks had practically become Hollywood's version of political correctness.