Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

Now Warner Bros. Pictures has taken the initiative to propose a settlement, agreeing to compensate for the losses.

Palm Beach Films can not only recover the loss but also establish an image in the industry as a force not to be messed with.

Other collaborating companies will think twice before trying to take advantage of Palm Beach Films, weighing whether it would be worth the trouble or not.

Undoubtedly, the ones who played the biggest role in this matter were Ivanka and Catherine.

In an era where big production studios and independent production companies coexist, many independent production companies and filmmakers have been shortchanged by the major film studios, having their box office earnings stolen by the Big Six or Seven. A film that should have been profitable ends up requiring them to pay a substantial amount of money back to the majors.

To take legal action, sufficient evidence is first needed.

The major chains and the Big Six studios are closely interdependent, and they are not inclined to easily produce hard evidence, for fear of offending the majors and losing films to screen, which would greatly reduce their profits.

Even with evidence, the legal process can be very costly, potentially even more than the losses swallowed by the Big Six, resulting in a situation where the cost outweighs the benefits, eventually only leaving room for silent resentment.

However, when Ivanka and Catherine heard about this, they decisively arranged an investigation, not caring about the expenses, demanding only fairness and justice with a very assertive attitude.

This attitude is probably one of the reasons why Warner Bros. Pictures took the initiative to negotiate a settlement.

Link thought for a moment and suddenly realized something odd.

"Earlier, when Catherine and I were analyzing the situation, we noted that a lot of scandalous gossip about you suddenly erupted in the media today. It was probably Warner's doing, trying to use this method to disrupt our arrangement. Yet, just as things were getting started, Warner proposed a settlement. Their attitude seems to have changed too quickly."

Ivanka nodded and said, "This morning, when I saw these news articles, I too thought Warner was behind it. But afterwards, I started to feel something was off. Stealing box office revenue is negative news, and Warner would likely try to cover it up rather than exposing the news that both parties are in negotiations, let alone using such an issue to stir up scandalous gossip, escalating the situation.

Now that I think about it, there must be other forces at play behind this matter, perhaps Warner's competitors, who want to blow up this issue to damage Warner's reputation."

Listening to her analysis, Link felt there was another possibility: the primary focus of this scandal was his relationship with Ivanka, and it seemed that whoever was stirring the pot really wanted to see him and Ivanka fall out, while concurrently tarnishing his reputation.

From this angle, the biggest suspect would be the love-rival Kunas, since he would benefit the most from a breakup between Link and Ivanka.

——

Meanwhile, as Ivanka and Link speculated, Pam Abdi, who was in the Palm Beach Films boardroom attending to the wrap-up work, had a different perspective.

He sat there with a sober expression, his mood somber as he looked across the conference table.

There, Palm Beach Films President Catherine Baker was closely reading a contract that the Warner legal department had rushed out over two hours ago.

The contract met all of Palm Beach Films' demands, filling the $56 million box office shortfall as well as paying $2 million for the cost of the investigation.

This was the first time Warner Bros. Pictures had issued such a contract, and it would also be a stain on his professional career that couldn't be erased.

Originally, they had no intention of compromising with Palm Beach Films. Even if the case went to court and dragged on for three, five, or even ten years, they would never admit to it.

But Palm Beach Films was too cunning. While negotiations were underway, they managed to secretly take photos and then used a scandal to hype up the situation, turning a minor incident into a matter of national concern.

While all the media were focusing on the scandal, Ivanka used the "Hollywood Reporter" to break the 'box office theft' story, drawing more public attention and putting pressure on Warner.

Although Time Warner is a media giant with dozens of TV stations, newspapers, and magazines, it's powerless to control the narrative when faced with a hot societal issue. The cost to nullify these negative public opinions would be even higher.

The top management at Warner Bros. Pictures felt the pressure and did not want to be blamed by the board of directors, so they dispatched him to come for negotiations.

Thinking this over, he couldn't help but admire how shrewdly Palm Beach Films had handled the situation, keenly aware of Warner's reluctance to make a big fuss and instead amplifying the issue to their advantage, without leaving any room for maneuver.

This kind of reckless approach also made Warner apprehensive.

But...

Pam Abdi stroked his chin, eyeing Catherine across from him, along with "Bridesmaids" producer Christine Wiig and three lawyers, speculating who could have come up with this idea.

Catherine, with an agent background and extensive industry experience, would have known about Warner Bros. Pictures' influence and likely would have dealt with this matter in a more tactful way.

As for Christine Wiig, being a second-tier actress in the industry, she wouldn't have the audacity.

It wasn't likely the other Palm Beach Films executives either.

That left Link or Ivanka as the possible architects. Considering that Link was busy with the Cannes Film Festival recently, his involvement in the company's affairs wasn't deep.

It could only be Ivanka's doing.

Thinking of Ivanka, that woman, Pam Abdi narrowed his eyes. Even though he was married and had encountered plenty of beautiful women, he couldn't help but be secretly impressed when he met Ivanka.

Ivanka had not only top-tier looks and a stunning figure, but what was truly breath-taking was her elegant speech, her shrewd and efficient manner of handling things, and her cold and dignified aura that seemed untouchable.