The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 225: The Hatred After the Couple's Fallout]

The ice bucket challenge, spearheaded by Tom Cruise and fully promoted by Twitter, was in full swing.

Twitter conducted an initial summary meeting. In the conference room, Hawke directly asked, "How long can we expect this hype to last?"

The CTO, Harland, pushed up his glasses and replied, "In the early stages of the event, we developed a data model that suggests this level of excitement can be sustained for about ten more days. After that, we'll enter a decline phase, with influence decreasing approximately every ten days, until it automatically concludes in about two and a half months."

"Good, that's better than I expected," Hawke said, turning to the Operations Director, Caroline. "How are the user stats looking?"

Caroline quickly responded, "We currently have 38.41 million registered users, and we anticipate that the total could exceed 40 million by the end of this event."

She paused slightly before adding, "In the past week, daily peak active users have all surpassed 28.4 million."

Hawke nodded, clearly satisfied.

Despite its growth, Twitter had seen a slowing user increase compared to its explosive early days. This was a natural trend.

At that moment, Sasha chimed in, "There have been over 14.6 million tweets about the ice bucket challenge, with relevant videos reaching 510,000. It has impacted 57 countries and regions, making it one of this year's most successful social movements and an iconic internet event."

These figures provided the most direct market feedback from the ice bucket frenzy.

Caroline added, "In this situation, we, Tom Cruise, and ALS patients achieved a win-win-win."

Hawke concluded, "We ultimately reached our set goals."

...

North of Los Angeles, Glendale, DreamWorks headquarters.

Once ambitious about rivaling the major players in Hollywood, DreamWorks, after the split of its founding trio -- Spielberg, David Geffen, and Jeffrey Katzenberg -- had lost much of its former grandeur, and even the lot felt significantly emptier.

Even so, the live-action film department led by Spielberg remained one of Hollywood's key production forces.

The preparatory meeting for the War of the Worlds project had just concluded.

Producer Kathleen Kennedy followed Spielberg into his office, saying, "We need to make a decision about the lead actor soon; the overseas investors are watching. If we don't secure a sufficiently convincing star for the role, it might affect their investment."

Spielberg, sitting in his office chair, asked, "Is Tom Cruise trying to pressure me with all the recent positive media coverage surrounding him?"

Kathleen, who had worked with him for over twenty years, replied candidly, "I can't say for sure if it's pressure, but Tom's public image has certainly improved a lot compared to earlier this year. The media and public's attitude toward him has flipped 180 degrees."

"I've seen the ice bucket challenge as well," Spielberg said. Although he hadn't participated, everyone in Hollywood was buzzing about it. He had heard multiple times about it and even noticed that some of his adopted children recorded a challenge video.

He shifted focus, "That Twitter company collaborating with Tom Cruise is intriguing."

Kathleen Kennedy, due to her involvement with the film, had done some research: "It seems that Hawke Osment, the founder of Twitter, orchestrated the ice bucket challenge, which turned around the public opinion troubles Tom experienced over the last half year, allowing him to regain public approval."

Spielberg suddenly felt interested in checking out Twitter. He opened up his nearby computer and, while waiting for it to boot up, said, "My biggest concern was Tom's public image issues, his faith, and the continuous backlash from women's organizations. If those issues aren't resolved, it could impact our movie."

Kathleen chimed in, "Now, all those issues have been resolved by Twitter's Hawke Osment."

With the problems taken care of, Spielberg decided to take advantage of the situation, saying, "Let Tom Cruise know that we've solved our technical matters and we can move forward with negotiations for the lead role."

Kathleen responded, "I'll call him right away."

After she left, Spielberg patiently registered a Twitter account, finding it much easier to navigate than he expected. The tutorials were simple, and it was user-friendly.

He attempted to send a tweet, tagging his adopted daughter, Mikaela. This young girl, currently under ten, had a dream of becoming a strip club dancer and an adult film star when she grew up.

...

Beverly Hills, Mulholland Drive.

In a luxurious kitchen, Tom Cruise stood in front of the oven, removing his thick oven mitts and tossing them onto the table as he set the timer.

He looked at the chef and said, "Let me know immediately when the timer goes off; I need to take the cake out myself."

The chef replied, "I'll notify you on time, in twenty-five minutes."

Satisfied, Tom Cruise stepped out of the kitchen.

...

Just then, an assistant rushed over, saying, "Tommy, I just got off the phone with Kathleen Kennedy. The technical issues with the War of the Worlds crew have been resolved, and now she and Spielberg can continue talks."

"Technical issues?" Tom Cruise scoffed, shaking his head. "These guys really know how to make excuses."

Previously, they had clearly expressed their doubts about collaboration due to his declining influence and the surge of negative publicity surrounding him.

In the industry, it was common for people to kick someone while they were down, even big directors and major productions. Tom Cruise, however, wasn't bothered by that. He replied, "Reply to her that I will visit DreamWorks tomorrow for a face-to-face meeting."

The assistant hurried to make the call.

...

Tom Cruise pulled out his phone and personally called Hawke. When the call connected, he said, "It's me. I have good news. Spielberg reached out to me and wants to continue discussions about the lead role in War of the Worlds. We did it."

On the other end, Hawke congratulated, "Congratulations, Tommy! You've secured another lead role in a top-tier production."

Tom Cruise was in high spirits, chuckling as he replied, "I'll be heading to Twitter this afternoon, and I'll bring a gift."

Hawke said, "You're always welcome."

...

After finishing the call with Hawke, Tom Cruise's assistant approached him, indicating that Kathleen Kennedy wanted to speak with him.

They talked on the phone for another while. Not long after, the chef came out from the kitchen to remind Tom Cruise that the time was almost up.

Tom Cruise hung up the phone and returned to the kitchen, donning his thick oven mitts. He took the baked cake out of the oven, bringing over cream and chocolate sauce, and, with the chef's help, made a white chocolate coconut cake from scratch.

This had always been a special way for him to acknowledge friends.

In the past, he usually reserved such gestures for Christmas. But today, in honor of Hawke, Tom Cruise decided to break that tradition.

...

Century City, CAA Headquarters.

Nicole Kidman, carrying a bag and walking in high heels, clicked her way into Pat Kingsley's office.

She plopped down on the sofa and complained, "A contact at DreamWorks just called me. Spielberg is restarting his collaboration with Tom Cruise."

Kingsley felt a headache coming on at the mere mention of that name and advised, "Nicole, try to stay calm. Tom is a top-tier star, and it's entirely normal for Spielberg to work with him."

Nicole Kidman's expression darkened considerably: "What about everything we've done over the last few months? You used media resources to expose his dirty laundry, while I did everything I could to tarnish his image, dragging him into the opposition between women and freedom. Was all of that for nothing?"

The real reason Kingsley couldn't say out loud, so she could only make up an excuse, "I never expected Twitter would so easily turn Tom's reputation around."

"Twitter!" Nicole Kidman recalled the still-ongoing ice bucket challenge and remarked, "It's all Twitter's doing behind the scenes for Tom."

That thought struck Kingsley. Considering Twitter's close collaboration with Tom Cruise, all those prior endeavors Tom had initiated could be linked to Twitter. If Tom had already known about those connections, he wouldn't have held back until now.

On the contrary, Twitter had earlier exposed scandals involving stars like Will Smith and Kobe Bryant, establishing a troubling precedent...

The more Kingsley thought about it, the more she felt this was related to Twitter.

Noticing her lapse into silence, Nicole Kidman asked, "Pat, are we just going to sit back and watch? Shouldn't we do something?"

Kingsley raised a hand to interrupt, "Hold on, I need to understand the situation with Twitter first."

That feeling of hatred that came after a couple's fight made Nicole Kidman long to see Tom Cruise fall into an abyss from which he could never rise again. She felt equally negative toward Twitter, which was helping him out.

While Nicole Kidman might no longer have the backing of her ex-husband, she was supported by major players behind the scenes. With an Academy Award under her belt, the media had been singing her praises, giving her plenty of confidence.

This cunning Australian woman's mind raced quickly, and she soon came up with an idea, stating, "What they care about most is the ice bucket challenge, which is currently trending. Should we take advantage of that?"

...

Meanwhile, Hawke welcomed Tom Cruise to Twitter. This Hollywood superstar brought with him a homemade cake as a token of appreciation for Hawke and the Twitter team.

"Try this, everyone, please give it a taste."

In the conference room, Tom Cruise handed out slices of cake to everyone, including Hawke, Edward, Sasha, and Caroline, and didn't forget to add, "I made this myself."

Hawke took a bite and found it overwhelmingly sweet.

He pulled Tom Cruise aside for a chat, saying, "The second phase target was completed; now we move on to the third phase, primarily focusing on film production and finding a new girlfriend..."

Tom Cruise laughed, "I can handle the third phase independently."

With that, Hawke had no objections.

*****

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