Chapter 821: Sadist

In all fairness, although he had been thriving on the strength of the Fast & Furious franchise, in talent-packed Hollywood, Vin Diesel's otherwise unremarkable body of work meant he could probably only be considered a Second-Tier Star. Aside from the Fast & Furious series, his other films had met with tepid reception.

Had it not been for his accidental death, he never would have stirred up such a massive sensation.

For celebrities—key symbols of mass consumer culture—death often brought a massive boost to their appeal. It was a somewhat cruel and absurd fact, especially when a Hollywood star died young while riding high on success. Such a loss was all the more likely to wring sighs of grief from the public, breeding deeper identification and adoration for the star.

From James Dean, who embodied the "Beat Generation," to River Phoenix, who fell amid drugs and reckless youth, to Jonathan Brandis, who faded after reaching the height of his fame, this was true in every single case.

More recently, the sudden passing of Heath Ledger—who died of an overdose from prescription drugs—not only drew the world's mourning while helping The Dark Knight rake in a fortune, but enshrined him as a legend at a stroke with an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

In the social context of modern pop culture, a celebrity was essentially an objectified image. Reduced to a pure, commercialized icon hollowed of substance, a star was destined never to escape the grip of the commercial machine—even death could not break the shackles of the business world.

To say nothing of the Fast and Furious 5 cast members who already had some name recognition in Hollywood, even the film's main villain, Mel Gibson—who had disappeared from the industry for years—stepped forward in this marketing feast.

"Vin Diesel was a good man. He was hardworking and never let Hollywood go to his head. He knew life mattered far more than Hollywood and that you had to live accordingly. I was lucky to know him."

In the lounge of the Eye-Shaped Villa at Duke Manor, Mel Gibson's interview was playing on the television screen. Duke sat on the sofa with his left elbow propped on the armrest and his chin resting in his hand, watching impassively as the interview ended.

The face on the screen had visibly aged and looked almost unfamiliar. Duke had nearly forgotten about him; Mel Gibson really had been absent from mainstream media in North America for far too many years.

He had known all along that Vin Diesel and David Ellison had brought Mel Gibson back from Australia to appear in Fast and Furious 5, yet he had barely interfered. He knew it wouldn't change Mel Gibson's fate.

It was only after Vin Diesel died in a car crash, and Universal Pictures and Sky Film Studio seized on the tragedy for a massive publicity push, that Duke remembered Mel Gibson could still be put to use.

Sitting right beside him, Tina Fey flipped quickly through a file sent over by Penny Kalis. Once she confirmed it was useful, she handed it to Duke.

"After all these years," she said, "this wild man from Australia hasn't improved one bit."

Duke opened it for a quick look, set it down on the coffee table between the two sofas, and nodded to Tina Fey. "Proceed as planned."

"Got it."

Tina Fey picked up the file, rose to her feet, and left the lounge.

Over the past ten-odd days, the publicity blitz for Fast and Furious 5 had been exceptionally fierce. Riding the wave of Vin Diesel's fatal car crash, it had almost completely overshadowed The Avengers.

Although Duke didn't believe this would hurt the opening numbers of The Avengers, Fast and Furious 5 was slated to premiere on the second weekend of The Avengers' run. If sentimental nostalgia kicked in and Fast and Furious 5 exploded at the box office, the second-weekend take of The Avengers would undoubtedly suffer a massive blow.

He knew all too well just how terrifying that kind of sentimental effect could be.

Because of this, Duke and Warner Brothers had drawn up countermeasures. While it was impossible to erase the impact of Vin Diesel's fatal car crash entirely, they intended to undermine at least part of that sentimental appeal.

"Fast and Furious 5 is a pig hyped to the skies—the marketing needs to stop over-exploiting Vin Diesel."

Voices like this gradually began surfacing across Warner-affiliated media outlets.

Paul Walker was undoubtedly a central figure in commemorating Vin Diesel and promoting his posthumous influence, so many media outlets aimed their sights squarely at him.

The TMZ Website, owned by Warner, published a string of articles revealing, "Most of Paul Walker's friends are crew members such as cameramen and stuntmen. He and Vin Diesel did not get along at all, though he tried his best to hide it from the outside world. Although the two would chat in public and promote their films together, in private they avoided each other as much as possible. After the news of Vin Diesel's death broke, Paul Walker immediately flew to California to handle funeral arrangements and visit his family—gestures that his own friends found utterly laughable and hypocritical."

Then there was Mel Gibson. Numerous Warner media outlets exposed that he not only used drugs but also had ties to several extremist organizations in Australia and the Middle East...

However, none of this could truly dent Fast and Furious 5.

The real point of attack still lay with Vin Diesel himself.

Prompted by certain individuals, Vin Diesel's current girlfriend, Paloma Jimenez, gave an exclusive interview to TMZ. Not only did she announce that she would formally sue the late Vin Diesel, but she also handed several key pieces of evidence over to the media.

They were two video recordings, which were immediately given prominent placement on TMZ, Instant Sharing, Google, and Warner's online media platforms. Fueled by the buzz surrounding Vin Diesel's fatal car crash, they racked up over fifteen million online views in just three short days.

Anyone who watched the videos discovered that the Vin Diesel they had been mourning and sympathizing with was nothing like what they had imagined. Beneath that burly frame beat a twisted, perverted heart.

The first video ran for eight minutes, during which Vin Diesel abused Paloma Jimenez the entire time. The big-screen tough guy not only slapped his girlfriend across the face but brandished a bat, shouting in a furious rage, "I really want to bash your head in with a cricket bat! You have no brains and no soul left. I'll bury you in the garden!"

The second video captured an exchange between Vin Diesel and Paloma Jimenez in which he openly admitted to abusing her.

In the recording, Paloma Jimenez confronted him, saying, "What kind of man are you? I was holding our child in my arms, and you knocked my teeth right out."

Vin Diesel sneered, "Oh, are you angry? You deserved it."

Then Vin Diesel launched into a crazed, sexually deranged tirade: "You haven't satisfied my sexual needs. There's something wrong with how you function down there. You need to be smiling at all times."

When Paloma Jimenez said she was going to stay at a female friend's place for a while, Vin Diesel grew even more unhinged: "You treat her better than you treat me! I treat you so well, yet you look at me like I'm trash."

Paloma Jimenez could only try to reason with him: "You should see a doctor. It looks like you're seriously ill."

Vin Diesel only sneered, "I don't need a doctor. I need a woman who actually functions properly!"

Right after that, he began beating Paloma Jimenez violently again, even using a leather whip.

After exposing the evidence to the media, Paloma Jimenez filed a formal report with the Los Angeles Police, openly stating that she had been subjected to ongoing sexual abuse by Vin Diesel.

The Los Angeles Police also announced publicly that even though Vin Diesel was already dead, they would conduct a thorough investigation into the case.

The media circus grew even livelier. Voices praising Vin Diesel and voices smearing him were everywhere, except his supporters could only appeal to sentiment, while his detractors produced hard evidence like the video recordings.

Without a doubt, this swayed many of the people who had felt sympathy for Vin Diesel.

Duke and Warner Brothers didn't expect this to deal a crippling blow to Fast and Furious 5; they simply hoped to dampen some of the sentimental boost brought on by Vin Diesel's fatal car crash.

Two days later, Violet Kowal, an adult film actress from the San Fernando Valley, also released a video recording to the media starring none other than herself and Vin Diesel.

The adult film actress who had stepped forward on her own initiative was obviously using the scandal for publicity, yet the clear video footage made her claims highly credible.

She claimed in an interview that while Paloma Jimenez was pregnant, she had slept with Vin Diesel eight times in his office and apartment, and that he indeed had a penchant for sadistic abuse. She also stated she was willing to testify on Paloma Jimenez's behalf and would gladly submit to a polygraph test.

While this couldn't fundamentally reverse the tide of public opinion, it tangibly eroded the public sympathy generated by Vin Diesel's death.

In the comment section of Vin Diesel's official Instant Sharing account, the replies were no longer unanimous praise and mourning; different voices had begun to appear.

"What you did is downright disgusting."

"Scum like you should have died a long time ago."

In particular, several women's rights organizations across the United States announced they would step into the abuse case involving Vin Diesel and Paloma Jimenez, declaring that if the evidence proved true, a man like Vin Diesel did not deserve sympathy from any woman.

Hollywood was a battlefield without gunpowder, where every player fought tooth and nail for money, fame, and fortune. It was an arena no less cutthroat than any other business sector, and Duke had never shied away from competing with anyone.

Naturally, Universal Pictures and Sky Film Studio wouldn't sit idly by and launched counterattacks of their own. However, Duke and Warner Brothers were well prepared. The Avengers stood on a far firmer foundation than the Fast & Furious franchise—it wasn't something just anyone could shake.

With that, the curtain rose on another fiercely competitive summer season. To come out on top, it wasn't enough just to do one's own job well—one also had to suppress the competition. Every studio in Hollywood operated this way; a smooth, uncontested release that effortlessly raked in box office receipts existed only in fantasies.

Aside from smearing Vin Diesel, Duke never once slacked on the promotional campaign for The Avengers.