Gilbert instructed Guards to tighten the security at the estate.
This incident served as a wake-up call. There might be more reckless reporters trying to break into Melon Estate.
It wasn't unprecedented. Previously, Tom Cruise's estate had been repeatedly invaded by unscrupulous reporters. Tom became furious and even lost his temper in front of the media.
Anna resolved the situation swiftly. By the next morning, TMZ, a Warner-owned outlet, had rapidly acquired that gossip site.
A new operations director took charge and immediately exercised their authority to fire over a dozen reporters associated with the site, including the one who acted so presumptuously.
"You're fired!" The new director's words were merciless.
The reporter's name was Reed. He was stunned: "Why? I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Hmph, I don't owe you an explanation. You can leave now. If you have any questions, talk to your lawyer!" The director was cold and ruthless, waving Reed away.
Reed instantly felt like he'd fallen into an ice cave, soulless, staggering out of the director's office in a daze.
His coworkers all looked at him indifferently. Overnight, their newly funded gossip site had changed hands, and Reed was the scapegoat.
He returned to his desk to pack up. This job paid decently it had taken shamelessness and guts to land it.
Reed suspected it had something to do with last night's premiere. He wasn't entirely clueless.
Being a reporter required a thick skin, but they also needed to know who they could and couldn't offend.
Clearly, Reed didn't. He crossed the wrong person and now faced the consequences.
Fight back? Don't be ridiculous. This is North America, and they used perfectly legal means. What grounds did he have to sue Gilbert?
Expose it to the media? Not a chance. Other media outlets weren't stupid even The Washington Post wouldn't stir this pot.
Reed left with his belongings. He first stopped at a nearby bar for a few drinks, then stumbled home, drunk, thinking about what to do next.
After this incident, probably no media outlet would ever hire him again. He might as well follow his father's footsteps and become a blue-collar worker, earning money the hard way.
He had always hated that kind of life, but in the end, he had to return to it.
But Reed didn't expect even that life to be out of reach. On his way back to his rental, he passed through an alley and was mugged by a group of Black men.
Reed resisted too much, so they taught him a lesson breaking one of his arms.
Technically, if he'd gone to the hospital in time, it could've been reattached. But medical expenses in North America were terrifyingly high, so Reed gritted his teeth and didn't dare go…
As he walked home with a dangling arm, he didn't notice a middle-aged man in the distance flipping a coin, watching everything unfold.
Once the muggers were done, the man made a call: "Boss, it's done. No one died."
The person on the other end said something, making the man frown: "If it were up to me, I'd just kill him. No one would even notice."
The caller disagreed, so the man dropped it, glancing in Reed's direction and muttering, "Consider yourself lucky…"
Then he vanished into the alley, and no one ever knew about it.
Reed called the police, but they were perfunctory and didn't investigate at all. He called multiple times to follow up, but North American police only worked for money.
With no money, Reed's case was ignored.
Eventually, it was forgotten, and Reed became disabled, his future bleak.
Really, if he hadn't messed with Gilbert and followed the rules of the trade, Gilbert was a pretty decent guy.
But if he didn't react to this kind of situation, people would think he was soft and easily bullied. He couldn't allow that.
However, the idea of letting the Black men give Reed a humiliating punishment didn't come from Gilbert himself.
The man on the phone had called Elvin Chalmers, assistant to Robert Iger, Disney's Chairman and CEO.
He was responsible for the dirty work almost every major media or corporate empire had such roles to handle inconvenient matters.
After the middle-aged man's call, Elvin Chalmers reported to Robert Iger: "Chairman, it's done. Should we inform Director Gilbert?"
"No need," Robert Iger waved. "Let's not bother him. He's busy working."
"Yes, Chairman…"
After Elvin Chalmers left, Robert Iger gazed out the window, deep in thought.
This was a warning to others Gilbert was Disney's most valuable asset. Iger was determined to make Disney the world's top media conglomerate, and Gilbert was vital to that goal.
So he had to protect Gilbert. Not a single mishap could be allowed.
Moreover, even if he didn't act, Doug Walter from Warner Bros. would've done the same thing.
Everyone knew the unspoken rules. There were rumors that Universal Pictures once fed someone to the fishes for Spielberg.
The glamorous Hollywood wasn't just filthy inside it was also a bloody world. It's just that this side of it was never shown to the public.
This matter was like a ripple no waves were stirred, and it quickly faded from the surface.
Gilbert stayed in Los Angeles with Naomi Watts for two days, then returned to Mexico to continue filming.
As expected, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets raked in $88.357 million in its opening weekend and topped the weekly box office.
As expected, this was the last major box office hit of the year, marking the finale of this year's Hollywood run.
Although more films were scheduled for release, none of them mattered anymore—they wouldn't affect Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
The film's reviews were also quite positive, maintaining the good reputation of a sequel.
"The film is full of imaginative inventions and new ideas. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry expands and deepens a world previously unknown to the audience." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times.
"The spectacular magical world and the charming Potter in the film make audiences feel as if they've truly entered Hogwarts." —Dallas Observer.
"The director perfectly brings Rowling's exquisite and whimsical ideas to life on the big screen." —Chicago Reader.
"The film's darker and deeper plotlines are slightly superior to those of the first movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." —The Philadelphia Inquirer.
"As a sequel to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the movie was produced so quickly, yet it's even livelier than the first, with some new characters that bring a touch of comic relief." —Los Angeles Weekly.
Of course, there were also negative reviews. For instance, the ever-classic Washington Post wrote: "The film is sluggish and dull, lacking any real interpersonal storylines throughout."
Considering this film had Gilbert as its producer, such a review from The Washington Post came as no surprise.
Flipped ended its third week in theaters this week, accumulating a North American box office of $79.235 million and reaching a global box office of $121 million a very solid performance.
With the global box office surpassing $100 million, the media no longer hyped up Gilbert's supposed failure. In fact, it couldn't really be called a failure.
This week, the most talked-about events were the premiere of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and the news about Gilbert and Naomi Watts' child.
The media was all over the story, and movie fans found out as well.
Some fans had mixed feelings, but the majority offered their blessings and looked forward to the birth of Gilbert's child.
Gilbert had no interest in responding to the public's concern. After returning to the set in Mexico, he threw himself wholeheartedly into work.
...
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