Chapter 298: The Fate of the Chatterbox

"There isn't a moment of peace during the Summer Season," William Morris agent Martin Miller said, setting down his newspaper to look at the long-faced man sitting across from him. "But for us, this is good news."

The long-faced man was the most promising director under his wing. Known in Hollywood as Little Explosion Maniac and The Second Duke Rosenberg, he was highly skilled at explosive shots and fast-paced editing, and had already made quite a name for himself as a commercial director.

"Take a look, Michael." He handed the newspaper to Michael Bay. "To become an outstanding director like Duke Rosenberg, you have to do more than just make good movies."

"I understand."

Michael Bay didn't have much leverage yet, so he nodded modestly. "Competition in Hollywood is everywhere!"

With that, he opened the newspaper and easily found the good news Martin Miller had mentioned.

"Gunshots Off the Screen: The Matrix Violence Incident!"

The headline alone was eye-catching and shocking enough. It was bound to be bad news for The Matrix.

"Since North America entered the Summer Season, The Matrix has become the first massive hit, sparking a moviegoing frenzy among teenagers. The media and audiences have been debating the film's plot, setting, and visuals, but they have ignored its severely violent side. Just last Sunday, a shooting occurred in the San Francisco area. Nineteen-year-old Josh Cooke bought a gun similar to the one used by Keanu Reeves's character, Neo, and used it to murder his landlords."

"According to witnesses, Josh Cooke believed he lived inside the 'Matrix' and was convinced he was the savior. He thought his landlords were agents sent by the 'Matrix' to persecute him, and that he had to kill them to restore the real world..."

Michael Bay didn't need to read any further. The report was likely true, and breaking it now was clearly aimed at suppressing the immense popularity of The Matrix.

"This is only one of the newspapers covering the incident," Martin Miller said, pointing to the thick stack in front of him. "They're all hyping up this shooting. If I'm not mistaken, Sony Entertainment wants to use this to suppress The Matrix."

"I think so too," Michael Bay agreed, nodding.

He knew Martin Miller wouldn't bring this up for no reason. Frowning, he asked, "Do you think we should get involved?"

"Michael, your new film, Armageddon, comes out the weekend before Memorial Day." Pushing the newspaper aside, Martin Miller said slowly, "That will be the second weekend for Godzilla, and the third weekend for The Matrix!"

Competition in Hollywood was truly everywhere!

Having transitioned from advertising to Hollywood a few years ago, Michael Bay understood this deeply. "Warner Brothers won't just sit back. They'll definitely release an explanation or take countermeasures. What should we do? Target Godzilla?"

"No!" Martin Miller shook his head without hesitation. "Even though Michael Ovitz is behind Godzilla, I don't think it will be a massive success. The Matrix is the real threat to Armageddon!"

Originally, Martin Miller had thought Deep Impact would affect Armageddon the most. After all, their subject matter was similar, and if the former succeeded massively, audience preconceptions would reduce Armageddon to a mere imitator...

Who could have known that DreamWorks would prove so fragile under the siege of the Big Six Companies? Before the hype for Deep Impact could even spread, it was nearly obliterated by the impact of The Matrix, reducing its threat against Armageddon to an absolute minimum.

In that sense, Martin Miller felt he should be thanking Duke's film. However, the strong audience word-of-mouth and incredible weekday box office performance of The Matrix posed a severe threat to Armageddon, which was opening the following week. A fierce rivalry had already formed between the two.

When dealing with competitors, striking them down was the only logical choice.

"Michael, have you seen the box office statistics from yesterday—Monday?"

Seeing Michael Bay shake his head, Martin Miller said, "The single-day box office for Deep Impact has already dropped below 3 million dollars! Meanwhile, fueled by explosive word-of-mouth and an ever-expanding theater count, Monday's box office for The Matrix only dropped by less than ten percent compared to Sunday. It raked in 14.51 million dollars!"

"That... how is that possible?" Michael Bay simply couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That's exactly the same trend as Titanic!"

Martin Miller raised his voice. "It won't become Titanic, but it's a much bigger threat to us than Godzilla."

"What can I do?" Michael Bay asked.

"Join me in pressuring Armageddon's producer and distributor, Walt Disney!" Martin Miller had clearly thought this through. "We'll get Walt Disney to join the ranks of those suppressing The Matrix."

Armageddon's production budget was a staggering 140 million dollars. The producer was Walt Disney's subsidiary, Touchstone Pictures, and the distributor was another Disney branch, Buena Vista Pictures!

With such a massive investment on the line, how could Walt Disney's affiliated media outlets just sit back and watch?

After Michael Bay left, Martin Miller gave Walt Disney's management a call. It was safe to say the two sides hit it off instantly.

When powerful corporate factions wanted to push an already compelling narrative, the news spread across North America and the entire Western world at breakneck speed. The explosive popularity of The Matrix in North America didn't just affect the domestic market; the competition extended to the much broader overseas markets as well.

"A crazed director is doing terrible things. When something like this happens, we truly need to consider what kind of message we are broadcasting. The violence and fantasy of certain movies caused this tragedy. Hollywood filmmakers must take on as much responsibility as possible. The Matrix cannot absolve itself of the blame for this act of societal violence. When cinematic violence turns into reality, shouldn't the movie be held accountable?"

Not only were print media outlets aggressively reporting on the shooting, but Duke later saw related coverage during a primetime broadcast on Walt Disney's ABC Television. Although the report didn't explicitly name the film, it was highly inflammatory, and one didn't need to guess to know it was talking about the shooting.

The Matrix had brought in 14.51 million and 12.78 million dollars on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, pushing its cumulative North American box office to a stellar 81.47 million dollars. Under such excellent circumstances, the news coverage of the shooting undoubtedly cast a dark shadow over the film's prospects.

Having lived in this country for so long, Duke knew very well that blowing things out of proportion wasn't the exclusive patent of any single nation. The North American media was just as ruthless when utilizing the tactic.

Pinching his slightly red nose, Duke glanced out the floor-to-ceiling window at the pitch-black night sky, then turned his gaze back to Penny Kalis, Nancy Josephson, and Jamie Jensen.

The three of them had just finished their discussion.

In truth, the moment the widespread newspaper publications began yesterday, Duke's team and Warner Brothers had initiated crisis management. However, understanding the truth of the matter, investigating the shooter's background, and formulating an effective, targeted strategy all required time.

The only ones who managed to react rapidly were Penny Kalis's internet PR department. They had already spread a lot of targeted promotional material online, guiding fans of The Matrix to spontaneously defend the film across the web.

Even so, traditional media still held absolute dominance in this era.

"Duke, just leave the PR to us," Nancy Josephson said. "Combining your input with the actual circumstances of the culprit, we've developed a comprehensive strategy to steer public attention toward his family background as much as possible."

"I've always had faith in you," Duke said.

He had barely spoken before a fit of coughing overtook him. Tina Fey hurried over with a glass of water and handed it to him. "Your top priority right now is recovering."

Duke nodded. At best, he could only offer suggestions for something like this; when it came to actual execution, he was definitely no match for the professionals.

A cold and fever were minor illnesses, but shaking them off was a hassle. After Nancy Josephson and the other two left, Duke took his medicine, instructed Tina Fey to keep an eye on the situation's progress, and went straight upstairs to rest. Recovering his health was more important than anything.

In truth, the public relations strategy wasn't complicated. Much like John Hinckley, who had attempted to assassinate Reagan under the influence of Taxi Driver years ago, these incidents were never caused by a single factor.

Early the next morning, NBC Television's The Today Show featured a focused analysis of the incident.

A renowned national psychiatric expert broke down the case based on Josh Cooke's past medical records from his therapist.

"Josh Cooke's shooting cannot simply be blamed on any one factor. The occurrence of this tragedy is heavily tied to the suspect's own unhealthy personality, and any random event he encountered could have served as an emotional catalyst. He was incapable of distinguishing fiction from reality. Based on the data we have obtained, Josh Cooke himself suffered from severe depression. For someone with a mental illness..."

That day's New York Times and Los Angeles Times heavily highlighted Josh Cooke's family and certain incidents that had occurred during his tenancy.

"Josh Cooke is of mixed Asian and Latino descent. His family was broken from a young age, and he was placed in several foster homes where he suffered a degree of abuse. After finding a job and renting a place in San Francisco, he was frequently mocked by his landlords... This once again exposes the harm that broken families inflict on minors. Josh Cooke is merely a victim of a fractured home..."

Warner's affiliated media and outlets leaning favorably toward them used various angles to redirect the narrative surrounding the shooting's cause. And just like the opposition's hyped claims that Josh Cooke believed he lived in the Matrix, these were also indisputable facts.

In reality, this wasn't the first time movie violence had been debated in North America. Warner's crisis management also earned the approval of a significant number of people.

Still, whenever an incident like this occurred, it was impossible for the film to escape without any negative impact. The most direct casualty would be its box office.