Chapter 269: Confrontation

Compared to Harvey Weinstein's sexual harassment crimes, the revelation that his younger brother, Bob Weinstein, had secretly contacted Oscar voters caused an even greater stir within Hollywood.

Of course, ordinary people didn't really care whether Weinstein Company had manipulated the Oscars behind the scenes.

What they were more interested in were scandals—how many actresses had been victims of Harvey Weinstein, or whether there were others like him preying on female stars.

But within Hollywood, especially among the Oscar committee, this exposure was a serious matter.

Soon, the Oscar committee issued a statement declaring that the Academy had always upheld fairness, that its members adhered to ethical voting practices, and that no film had ever been given preferential treatment.

Weinstein Company also released a statement, claiming the accusations were false. While Bob Weinstein had always been committed to film promotion, that didn't mean he had bribed Oscar voters. Any interactions between him and Academy members were purely normal friendships.

In fact, everyone in Hollywood knew about awards lobbying, but no one dared to expose it outright.

The Oscars held the fate of film studios and actors in their hands. In North America, any movie unrecognized by the Academy was doomed to be abandoned by the market and investors. Though the system wasn't entirely fair, it was authoritative enough.

Even though people often joked that the Oscars had lost their integrity and turned into a grand spectacle, the undeniable truth was that, over the decades, the Academy had used its influence to bring attention to many great films that would have otherwise gone unnoticed by the mainstream.

So, despite its flaws, everyone played by its rules—even if that meant spending some money.

After The Washington Post broke the story, Hollywood closely followed the unfolding developments.

Following the statements from Weinstein Company and the Academy, The Washington Post dropped another bombshell:

"Bob Weinstein has privately bribed certain Oscar Academy voters."

Along with the accusation came photographic evidence.

The pictures showed Bob Weinstein in deep conversation with an elderly Oscar voter as they entered a private vineyard.

The photographer, seemingly hiding in a tree, had used a telephoto lens to capture the entire dinner through the leaves and the estate's large windows.

At the dining table, Bob Weinstein handed the Oscar voter a document. The voter nodded, smiled, and the two continued drinking.

When the Oscar voter left the vineyard, he was holding a small wooden box.

Before anyone could get a clear look, he quickly got into a private car arranged by Bob and left.

Once these photos were released, the public immediately assumed they had engaged in a financial transaction. A small portion of people argued that it was just a friendly exchange of gifts.

Bob Weinstein promptly defended himself, claiming that he and the Oscar voter had been close friends for years. The invitation was merely to let his friend taste a new batch of wine, and the document was about wine investment shares.

The Academy, on the other hand, chose to remain silent.

Only the Oscar voter in question accepted an interview, insisting that he had not taken any bribes. He stated that his relationship with Bob Weinstein was purely business and that their friendship remained untainted. He denied ever helping Bob influence votes or suppress certain films.

When Ethan saw this, he sneered. A pure friendship?

Ridiculous. Anyone with a brain could see that their so-called "business relationship" was just a transaction in disguise.

But the evidence in Ethan's hands wasn't strong enough to prove outright bribery—he had to take a more indirect approach.

Fortunately, he had more photos.

Before long, images of Bob Weinstein engaging in "friendly" exchanges with multiple Oscar voters appeared across major media outlets.

Now, their previous excuse wouldn't work anymore.

After all, claiming one interaction as friendship was one thing, but what about a whole group of voters?

Ethan had to applaud their extensive network of "friendships."

Even so, Bob Weinstein still refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing.

Then, a rumor started circulating.

"Did you hear? Bob Weinstein prefers men—old men, to be exact!"

"That's right. I saw the photos. He's way too close with them. They were even holding hands, like lovers."

"So the Oscar committee is full of old men who like men?"

"No wonder Bob never followed in his brother's footsteps. Turns out his tastes are completely different."

"One brother likes women, the other likes old men. Wow! What a revelation!"

Everyone knew Hollywood gossip spread like wildfire.

In just three days, nearly everyone had heard the rumors. Even those who hadn't would be informed soon enough.

This kind of gossip deeply offended many Oscar voters, some of whom threatened to sue the media for defamation.

But the rumor had spread too subtly—no one could trace its source. In the end, a few humiliated voters directly resigned from the Academy.

Meanwhile, Bob Weinstein was blacklisted by the remaining Oscar voters and found himself overwhelmed by crisis.

They decided it was safer to sever ties with him than risk being associated with such rumors.

For Ethan, this was enough.

Unveiling the dirty secrets behind Hollywood's glamorous facade wasn't something he could achieve alone.

His goal had always been simple—destroy the Weinstein brothers, cripple their company, and send them to prison.

Now, he had succeeded. The only thing left was to see how many years Harvey Weinstein would be sentenced to.

However, just as Ethan was ready to move on, something unexpected happened.

Bob Weinstein suddenly extended an invitation to Ethan for a private cocktail party.

"What does this mean?" In his office, Ethan stroked his chin, trying to figure it out. "Could he have figured out that I'm behind all of this?"

Yuffie, who was sorting through documents, replied, "I don't think so. Maybe this party is for gathering PR executives."

"You might be right." Ethan thought for a moment and agreed with her reasoning.

From Bob Weinstein's perspective, this entire situation was clearly an attack not just on their company, but on the entire PR industry. It was possible that a major player was trying to stir the waters and enter the game.

So it made sense for Bob to reach out to others in the same field. But why invite Ethan specifically?

Logically, Bob should be contacting the CEO of Bernay's PR instead.

Ethan declined the invitation, instructing Yuffie to inform Bob that he was too busy.

But he underestimated Bob.

The next afternoon, Leonardo suddenly called him.

"Ethan, are you free these days? A friend of mine wants to invite you to a party."

"A party? Weinstein?"

"Mm-hmm. What do you think?"

"Didn't expect this. If I refuse, will the next caller be someone even more influential?"

"Hard to say. But don't worry, Ethan—he just wants to talk."

"Fine, I'll put my other work aside and go."

After hanging up, Ethan called Tom into his office and assigned him some tasks.

Two days later, Ethan drove to a private estate in the outskirts of New York.

The place was filled with blooming flowers, with a grand artistic garden featuring numerous nude statues. Trimmed hedges and manicured greenery made the scene look like something out of a fantasy film.

As soon as Ethan stepped out of his car, butlers and servants approached to attend to him.

"Welcome! Ethan, you're a hard man to meet!"

At the entrance of the estate, Bob Weinstein emerged holding two glasses of wine.

Ethan casually took one and smiled. "I've just been too busy. Between movies and business—God, there's always something to do."

"Then how about taking a break? Relaxing a little?" Bob Weinstein gave him a mysterious smile, as if hinting at something.

Ethan didn't take the bait. "No, thanks. To be honest, I actually enjoy staying busy."

Bob nodded and didn't push further.

As they walked into the party, Ethan was surprised to see someone unexpected—

Kevin Spacey.

The man who won an Oscar for American Beauty and gained worldwide fame through House of Cards was now sitting with a glass of red wine, sporting his signature hairstyle.

When he saw Ethan, he immediately stood up, smiling. "Well, well, look who it is! Wow, it's an honor to finally meet you, Ethan."

"The honor is mine." Ethan shook his hand politely, then sat down with Leonardo.

As the drinks flowed, Ethan noticed Kevin Spacey occasionally giving him an odd look.

FXXK.

Was this guy interested in him?

Ethan was well aware of Kevin Spacey's sexual orientation. In the future, this guy would be accused of multiple cases of sexual harassment against men, get kicked out of House of Cards, and become a scandal-ridden disgrace.

By the time he was eventually acquitted in court, he was already 65 years old. Burdened with debt, he tried to make a comeback, but no one in the industry was willing to invest in him.

At the end of the day, he had become disconnected from the times. The future wasn't like the present—it wasn't an era where acknowledging one's mistakes and turning over a new leaf could lead to a fresh start.

Ethan hadn't expected to see him here, but upon doing so, an ominous feeling began to grow in his heart.

Kevin Spacey, Leonardo, Bob Weinstein—three people who seemingly had no connection to each other had gathered here. There had to be an undeniable reason behind it.

That reason clearly had nothing to do with Ethan, or rather, he was merely one of the necessary conditions for its occurrence.

With this thought in mind, he looked up at Bob Weinstein and got straight to the point: "Weinstein, so what exactly is so important that I had to be here?"

"Ethan, alright, I won't beat around the bush. The reason I invited you here today is to negotiate." Bob Weinstein's words made Ethan's eyebrow twitch slightly.

"What do you mean? Negotiate? We've never been at odds, have we?" Ethan asked in confusion.

"My brother's situation—isn't it because you were involved?" Bob Weinstein narrowed his eyes, speaking with certainty.

Ethan's expression remained only one of surprise under his gaze. "What are you talking about? Harvey? Why would I go after Harvey?"

"Because of The Norton's Eye. Because of the Oscars."

"You mean Bernay?" Ethan chuckled. "I admit I'm a shareholder in that company, but so what? Why would I go to such great lengths to target you? Do you think I care about the Oscars?"

"You don't?" Bob Weinstein stared at him intently, while the other two fell into silence.

"Should I?" Ethan took a sip of his drink calmly and clipped the tip of a Cuban cigar with a cigar cutter. "I've already won every Oscar award I could possibly get. For me, the Oscars hold no more challenge."

He placed the cigar in his mouth, slowly inhaling and exhaling the smoke. His gaze, flickering through the layers of haze, landed on Bob Weinstein.

"But Weinstein, this is interesting. Are you saying all this to test me? Or are you looking to make a new enemy?"

Silence. For a moment, aside from the faint sound of smoke being exhaled, the room was completely still.

Bob Weinstein and Ethan locked eyes for half a minute. Then, suddenly, Weinstein burst into laughter. "My apologies, Ethan. My apologies. It seems I misunderstood."

Ethan said nothing, merely continuing to smoke his cigar quietly.

Leonardo spoke up. "Alright, this must be a misunderstanding. Ethan even attended Harvey's gatherings before. The whole 'belly button touching' trend in Hollywood right now? That's his creation."

"Really?" Kevin Spacey looked astonished upon hearing this.

Recently, besides the gossip circulating Hollywood, a particular challenge had gone viral among actresses—reaching around their backs to touch their belly buttons.

Anyone who could do it was deemed to have an exceptionally slim waist.

This trend was even more popular among models, as their careers depended on body image. Lately, at Victoria's Secret events, some well-known models had even demonstrated the move on the runway, shocking audiences.

Kevin Spacey had seen videos of the challenge but had never imagined that the mastermind behind it was sitting right in front of him.

"Wow, Ethan, you're amazing. Even a casual game you come up with can set a trend in Hollywood."

"Thanks, I just thought of it randomly."

As the conversation continued, the tense atmosphere of the gathering finally relaxed.

Ethan wasn't sure whether Bob Weinstein's probing was just a routine test or if he truly suspected something. But one thing was certain—he had no proof.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have stopped questioning.

It was just a pity that the Oscars had chosen to protect him. Otherwise, Bob Weinstein would undoubtedly have ended up like his brother.

But Ethan had anticipated this outcome from the very beginning, so he wasn't particularly surprised.

What interested him more now was—what exactly was Bob Weinstein planning next?

....

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