Chapter 918 - A Shock

Time passed by amid such busyness, and finally, the Golden Globes arrived.

This year's Golden Globes were as fiercely competitive as ever, with 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' undoubtedly being the most anticipated and likely winner.

Last year, Laila did not attend the Golden Globes. Although she had her reasons, given the unpleasantness from the year before, it was impossible not to speculate. Unfortunately, last year's Golden Globes saw a significant drop in ratings, so this time, the Golden Globes organizers sent Laila an invitation early on, as if forgetting the past unpleasantness, asking her to bring her team to attend the awards ceremony.

Who is Laila? She is the type to take advantage of any benefits presented to her. In her mind, the Golden Globes may not compare to the Oscars, but it is still a globally significant award. If she can win it, why would she turn it down?

So not only did she decide to attend, but she also planned to do so happily. Even if the Golden Globes dared not repeat their previous actions, even if they left Laila empty-handed again, it wouldn't be *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* that would suffer.

If such a thing were to happen again, the fairness of the Golden Globes would undoubtedly face even more severe scrutiny. And with the number of Laila's fans, as well as the fans of 'The Lord of the Rings' itself, such an incident would surely lead to a massive backlash against the Golden Globes.

Under these circumstances, why wouldn't she attend?

If she were to attend, walking the red carpet would be an essential part. Every time she and Roy appeared on the red carpet, it was one of the most anticipated moments for fans. Not only because they could see her up close, but also because they could see the couple's matching outfits.

Laila's low profile is well-known. She rarely attends events and gives even fewer interviews. But somehow, she seems to naturally attract attention. When she keeps a low profile, it feels like she doesn't exist, but the moment a topic arises, she instantly becomes headline news.

Her fans experience both happiness and frustration. The happiness comes from her being one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, with almost one of her films released every year on average. The frustration stems from her apparent lack of awareness of being a celebrity, making it incredibly difficult to learn anything about her.

But just as she was preparing to attend, a piece of news came that shocked everyone who heard it. This year's Golden Globes would have no red carpet, no guests, no awards ceremony, and not even the usual post-event parties. Instead, there would only be a press conference!

What happened? Laila was startled by this sudden news. If the Golden Globes weren't happening, what would happen to her award?

"Did you forget?" Demi, who brought the news, looked curiously at her boss. "The writers' strike that started last November has affected the Golden Globes. It seems the actors' guild is also refusing to attend, and that's how things have ended up."

The words "writers' strike" finally jogged Laila's memory. Of course! The 100-day writers' strike from late 2007 to early 2008 is famously significant in film history. How could she have forgotten about it?

Although she also writes scripts, she writes and directs her films, so she never joined the writers' guild. Before the strike, some actors she knew had probed her stance, given her influential position in Hollywood. She remembered casually expressing support for the strike at the time, but since she was still working at the group then, she didn't get involved when the strike escalated.

Moreover, the writers under her were young authors, and she never shortchanged her subordinates. Although they were pressured to join the strike, they had already completed their work beforehand. Thus, this strike, which caused significant losses across Hollywood, had the least impact on Laila's company.

No wonder she, as the boss, had completely forgotten about it!

Laila had genuinely pushed this matter to the back of her mind. She was too busy, and most people couldn't get close enough to her to talk about the strike. She used to check Facebook and the news regularly, but recently, various tasks have consumed all her time, and the little time left was taken up by Roy. As a result, she was perfectly isolated from the whole situation.

Ironically, her subordinates—whether Demi, Louise or even Roy—assumed her silence on the matter was due to her displeasure with the strike. After all, she was part of the leadership class and had many connections with writers. Since the strike had little impact on the company, they never brought it up in front of her.

Thus, Laila remained completely unaware, and her plan to use the Golden Globes to strike back at her critics tragically fell apart.

Seeing her boss remain silent, Demi thought Laila was "indeed" upset about the situation and expressed some concern. "I wonder when this will end. I hope it doesn't affect the Oscars. I heard both the Golden Globes and the Oscars tried negotiating with the Writers' Guild to spare the awards dates, but the talks fell through."

"I see. You can go back to work now," Laila said, her expression unchanged, as if the news hadn't affected her at all. But once her beautiful secretary left, her face fell, revealing a look of utter despair, as if she wanted to be left alone with her thoughts.

When Roy came to the office to take her home, he found her staring at the sunset with that desolate expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked, kissing her forehead.

"I just heard some news. The Golden Globes have turned into a press conference," Laila sighed.

Roy laughed. "Is that all? You only found out today?"

Laila glared at him. "And when did 'you' find out?"

"A couple of days ago. The actors' guild notified me not to attend this year's Golden Globes. My agent also reminded me that even if I received an invitation, I shouldn't go. They said none of the A-listers would attend unless they were sure to win an award."

It was easy to imagine that the actors and top directors vying for major awards wouldn't foolishly stand around waiting for the results. If they won, great, but if someone else's name was called, how awkward would that be? Even for the sake of their stars' dignity, agents wouldn't allow their clients to attend such a downgraded event.

Hearing this, Laila's eye twitched. So everyone knew, and she was the only one kept in the dark?

"Why didn't you tell me? Didn't you know I've been preparing a dress for the Golden Globes red carpet?"