Chapter 67: Image Destroyed

"Crash..." With a sharp shatter, a chair crashed onto the glass coffee table, instantly reducing it to countless shards. Even so, the room's owner remained consumed by rage. Sean Connery hoisted another chair and shattered the television screen reporting his scandal into a shower of debris.

"Bastards!" he cursed over and over.

Elsewhere, his wife, Micheline Roquebrune, had already hidden in the mansion's kitchen to avoid another beating. The man outside looked like a gentleman, but in reality, he was no different from the crudest dockworker. Ever since the media began hyping Christopher Lee's experiences, his violent temper had only escalated. Every time he drank or did drugs, he used her as a punching bag...

Perhaps God had finally opened His sleeping eyes. Audio of his beatings and photos of his drug use had somehow found their way into the media's hands. Since yesterday, outlets across America had been frantically reporting on the deeply uncivilized behavior of the elegant old gentleman.

"My image! My image is completely ruined by those bastards!"

Sean Connery's furious roar echoed through the living room once again. He yanked a newspaper from the rack and skimmed the headlines...

"Sean Connery Addicted to Alcohol, Frequently Beats Wife!"

"The Real Sean Connery: Marijuana and Cocaine Are Daily Necessities..."

"Drug-Fueled Sean Connery Beats Wife!"

If these had merely been text reports, Connery wouldn't have flown into such a rage. But the newspapers had printed photos, and the television stations were even broadcasting a recording of him beating his wife.

"Dad, please calm down!"

His son rushed downstairs to intervene.

"Did you do this?"

In his blazing fury, Sean Connery glared at his son. He knew the boy harbored resentment toward him and was much closer to his wife. His son had even threatened several times to expose everything to the press if he didn't stop the abuse.

Now that his private life was splashed across the media, his son was the prime suspect.

"Are you trying to send me to an early grave so you can inherit my money?!"

Seeing his son's apathetic expression, Sean Connery could endure it no longer. He snatched an ashtray off the floor and hurled it. The heavy glass slammed into his son, seemingly shattering the last thread of connection between them.

"The renowned Mr. Sean Connery! The world's most famous gentleman!" The voice was laced with bitter resentment. "Is this your true face? How does it feel to be exposed? I don't know who did this, but I applaud them!"

With that, he strode over to the kitchen and helped his bruised and battered mother out. Heading straight for the mansion's front doors, he called back over his shoulder, "Mr. Connery, I'll see you at the press conference on Monday!"

"Get out! Get the hell out!" Sean Connery hurled another chair, which smashed heavily against the front door with a deafening crash.

The massive mansion felt utterly empty, the living room littered with debris and trash. Sean Connery felt as though the entire world had betrayed him. The very media that had hoisted him into the clouds just last week now wanted to crush him to pieces and stomp him into the dirt over a domestic violence recording and a few drug photos.

It took a long time for Sean Connery to calm down. Looking at the mess strewn across the floor, his temper flared again. He took several deep breaths, and once he felt slightly better, he walked over to the telephone and dialed Martin Bob, one of his agents.

"Martin, why didn't CAA get any advance notice about this?" he bellowed like a lion.

According to standard media practice, if an A-list star had a scandal, the press would notify their agency beforehand, even if they intended to publish it. But there had been absolutely no wind of this. Then, led by the NBC Television Network and tabloids under Warner, the media had dumped it all out at once.

"Do you still not understand, Sean?" Martin Bob's tone was icy. "There's a powerful hand pushing this from behind. There are lines you cannot cross, especially when dealing with members of the Big Six Companies. If you do, you pay the price!"

"You were the one who crossed the bottom line first!" Martin Bob was clearly in a foul mood as well. He said bluntly, "Sean, stay out of the public eye for now..."

"I didn't do it! I swear! I didn't do it!" Sean Connery roared. "I'm calling a press conference!"

"Sean!" Martin Bob stressed. "If you show your face, those reporters will tear you apart. Your gentlemanly image is ruined. You've single-handedly destroyed the image CAA spent years building for you! That image is your greatest asset! What do you have left without it? Your priority right now is to stay calm and control the people around you so they don't go blabbing to the press..."

Hanging up the phone, Martin Bob sank into his chair in exasperation. Sean Connery was one of his premium clients, but after this, his future was looking bleak.

Although Sean Connery suspected his own wife and son, Martin Bob knew that regardless of the truth, Warner Brothers definitely had a hand in this behind the scenes. Connery was an impulsive hothead, a trait that hadn't faded with age. Since he had been the first to cross the red line of a Hollywood studio giant, paying the price was only to be expected.

Clearly, Martin Bob didn't buy Sean Connery's protests of innocence. The old man had done far too many despicable things in his youth.

Ever since the scandal broke yesterday, CAA hadn't been sitting on its hands. Its PR efforts had managed to get a few outlets to retract the news, but the vast majority of the media was still running wild with it. The situation was glaringly obvious: not only was Warner Brothers using Sean Connery to send a warning, but Time Warner had likely mobilized some of its resources as well.

CAA was undoubtedly powerful, undeniably the top entertainment agency in Hollywood, but its annual revenue was only a little over $100 million. How could it possibly contend with a media conglomerate like Time Warner? In the face of the Warner Group, his day-long PR campaign had been nothing more than a joke.

Oh, and there was Twentieth Century Fox and Walt Disney, who worked quite closely with CAA. Not only did they have no intention of helping, but their affiliated media outlets were also feverishly hyping the Sean Connery scandal. Those profit-hungry bastards...

Martin Bob paused at the thought. Wasn't CAA also among the ranks of those profit-hungry bastards?

A knock suddenly sounded at the door before it was pushed open. Anyone who dared to stroll directly into Martin Bob's office was certainly an A-list client of CAA. The newcomer pulled out the chair across the desk, sat down, and crossed his legs.

"Stressing over Connery's situation?" Tom Cruise asked.

"Let's not talk about him, Tom." Tossing Sean Connery to the back of his mind for the moment, Martin Bob asked, "How's the post-production for Interview with the Vampire going?"

"It'll be done in three days at most," Cruise said with full confidence. "Only the opening and closing credits are left to add. Twentieth Century Fox is holding a test screening in five days."

"I'll push Twentieth Century Fox to increase their investment in marketing and distribution."

Hearing Martin Bob's flat tone, Tom Cruise frowned in slight dissatisfaction. "Martin, since CAA and Twentieth Century Fox have decided to officially release the film on May 7th, what about our opponent?"

He hadn't forgotten that the young director named Duke Rosenberg had rejected him to his face.

"Tom, you have to understand, our competitor is Warner Brothers!" Martin Bob stressed. "We can do whatever we want within the rules of competition, but crossing the bottom line..."

"I get it," Tom Cruise shrugged. "I'm no idiot like Sean Connery."

Martin Bob naturally understood Tom Cruise's personality. Aside from a few words of caution, he didn't press the matter. Warner Brothers choosing this moment to push Sean Connery's scandal was both revenge and a warning to their competitors. Any underhanded tactics outside the rules would inevitably invite a counterattack. Even Twentieth Century Fox and its backer, the News Group, wouldn't lightly ignite a vicious rivalry with Warner Brothers and Time Warner.

"Aren't we going to think of something on the marketing front?" Tom Cruise asked after pondering for a moment.

"Hold off for now." Martin Bob picked up the nearby phone. Dialing a number, he said, "We'll draft a targeted strategy once the test screening reviews for The Rock come out."

He dialed Twentieth Century Fox and spoke with the CEO, Thomas Rothman, urging him to pour more resources into Interview with the Vampire.

On the other side of Century City, Thomas Rothman set the receiver down and looked at the deputy sitting across his desk.

"Hold the test screening for Interview with the Vampire as soon as possible. Also, invite the theater chains, critics, and media reporters according to A-list movie standards!"

"Understood!" The deputy jotted his words into a notepad. Looking up, he asked, "What about the Sean Connery incident? Michael Ovitz from CAA has called three times demanding Fox's assistance, or at the very least, that we stop participating in the media circus. Should we stop?"

"Why should we stop?" Thomas Rothman stared at his deputy. "We have a partnership with CAA, but that's strictly limited to Interview with the Vampire. What does Sean Connery's fate have to do with us? That is CAA's interest, not Twentieth Century Fox's!"

"Our new project, Rising Sun," the deputy carefully reminded him. "Connery was tentatively set as the male lead."

"Replace him. Do you think his current image is still suited for a male lead?" Thomas Rothman didn't hesitate for a second. Seeing his deputy still wanting to speak, his voice sharpened. "Twentieth Century Fox will collaborate with CAA, but only on a select few projects. We are not puppets under CAA's packaging system, nor will we hand the majority of our projects over to those bloodsuckers to run!"

"Notify the Fox Television Network..." he continued. "Sean Connery's scandal is the hottest public topic right now. Send the broadcast trucks straight to his mansion... Hmm, doesn't he have an ex-wife who divorced him because of domestic abuse? Invite her onto the Fox Television talk shows. Forget about everything else; I only care about maximizing Fox's profits!"

"And one more thing!"

Just as the deputy was about to leave, Thomas Rothman added, "That Christopher Lee isn't bad. Send him an audition invitation for Rising Sun."