[Chapter 535: Hollywood Scandals]
Hollywood never lacked scandals. On the eve of the Golden Globe Awards, the Los Angeles Times and CBS News suddenly released a series of explicit photos of Woody Allen and his Korean adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. The timestamps on the photos revealed that Soon-Yi was underage at the time, clearly indicating that Woody Allen had taken advantage of a minor!
This sparked a huge uproar, with a flood of photos being circulated by various news outlets and newspapers. A few years ago, Mia Farrow, Woody Allen's ex-wife, had also made allegations against him concerning the sexual abuse of his adopted daughter, which was brought up again. Publications such as the New York Post, Chicago Sun-Times, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Premiere, and Vanity Fair, all deeply embedded in the entertainment market, delved into the scandal, pushing the situation to a boiling point!
Although Woody Allen quickly held a press conference alongside Soon-Yi, who had become his girlfriend, it didn't help. The fact remained that he had taken these photos of her when she was still a minor, and the charge of child molestation couldn't be avoided!
Drew Barrymore, who had recently worked with Woody Allen on the romantic comedy Everyone Says I Love You, commented in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, "This is just too awful!"
Mira Sorvino, one of the stars of Mighty Aphrodite, also expressed, "Woody Allen's talent is undoubtedly impressive, but to think he's that kind of person?"
As the Golden Globe dinner took place at the Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, groups of child protection and women's rights advocates had gathered outside to protest!
...
At John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Arthur Smith returned from the Bahamas but didn't head directly to Los Angeles. Instead, he went to Santa Ana, the largest city in Orange County.
At the Riverside Golf Club in Santa Ana, California Governor Pete Wilson and Congressman Ed Royce were waiting for Arthur!
"I'm still a Democrat, but I hang out with you Republicans all the time," Arthur said, swinging his golf club and sending the ball flying like a cannonball.
Pete Wilson looked up and couldn't help but praise, "That was a great shot!"
Arthur shrugged, putting down his club. The three of them sat down in the lounge. "The call girl scandal from last year is just behind us, and now we have Woody Allen's incest and molestation charges; it really affects Hollywood's reputation!"
Ed Royce chuckled, "I just secured a $30 million annual tax exemption for Newport Real Estate Group, lasting five years."
Newport Real Estate was the 3,000 acres Arthur bought at Newport Beach from the Irvine Company. Galaxy USA's and Starz's television headquarters were also located in Newport!
Arthur nodded. "Who's fueling this mess behind the scenes?"
"Donald Bren. Ever since he got pushed out of the Irvine Company, his other businesses in Southern California have been growing slowly," Ed replied.
"California isn't just one faction!"
Ed Royce was a Republican congressman from California's Orange County and was somewhat familiar with Donald Bren. Although in California, the strongest influences came from Governor Pete Wilson, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and media mogul Arthur Smith, the state's landscape was complex with many factions due to its size.
"Donald Bren, so it was him," Arthur laughed, "He owns quite a bit of property in Southern California. In Southern California's real estate community, Orange County is the Republican stronghold. Can't you even handle a guy like Donald Bren?"
Pete Wilson took a sip of his drink. "Want to team up again? Arthur, maybe that oil field in Indonesia isn't enough!"
Arthur shook his head. "The Indonesian oil fields are still being planned, and it's an election year. Some issues might come back to bite me."
Donald Bren was also a Democrat, but Arthur's faction was so strong that the other groups could be disregarded. However, Arthur had to be careful, as the real estate circle represented by Donald Bren couldn't pose too much of a threat to him.
Arthur couldn't let the Republicans behind Pete Wilson have it too easy. Collaboration was one thing, but who would really trust outsiders? Not even people within the same party. Only the ties of mutual interest were truly unbreakable!
"Such a pity," Pete Wilson said, looking at Arthur, "Can Hollywood stand this internal pressure?"
Arthur waved his hand. "Only Summer Redstone and Gerald Levin might have some objections. No one else will say anything, after all, I'm doing this to clean up Hollywood!"
What was Woody Allen anyway? Who would risk offending himself for him? This was all your group's fault for making it so public!
Once Arthur Smith left, Congressman Ed Royce turned to Pete Wilson, "Is there anyone in Hollywood who can balance Arthur? If he truly supported the Democrats wholeheartedly, we'd have a tough road ahead!"
Pete Wilson smiled, "At his level, there's no distinction between parties. Plus, there won't be any alliances. It's all about interest groups. Rupert Murdoch collaborates with us to form FNC to speak for conservatives, and Arthur's CBS News can rally for the Democrats too. But the Jewish influence in Hollywood is massive, and Rupert Murdoch has to unite with Arthur Smith to counter the internal Jewish influence. Time Warner, Disney, Viacom, and Universal -- they're all controlled by Jews!"
Ed Royce nodded, "Galaxy is going public this year, and it will surely shock everyone. Neither Time Warner nor Disney will be able to compete with Galaxy; it really isn't simple."
"So, the rise of the Smith family in California will begin with him," Pete Wilson mused. "His wealth is accumulating rapidly, and his political investments are substantial and precise. He's quite impressive!"
Ed Royce didn't think too much about that; he was only focused on the present situation, "What's the next step? Will you continue to target the Democrats?"
"Of course," Pete Wilson laughed, "Hollywood can democratize, but it can't be dominated by Jews. Now that we have Arthur Smith as our trump card, the Jewish influence has been significantly suppressed. Let's not forget, Jews are the largest Democratic faction in Hollywood. Do you think they can bypass Arthur Smith?"
After Clinton became president, the democratization of Hollywood accelerated, but the rising representatives weren't from the Jewish factions!
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.