The Wolf of Los Angeles

Chapter 397 - 397: History Changed

[Chapter 397: History Changed]

Downtown Los Angeles, Special Operations Bureau.

Erica wrapped up her shift and stepped out of Team A's office. She returned to her dressing room, took off her tactical uniform, and changed into a business suit. Pulling out her phone, she dialed Hawke's number.

Hawke answered, "I'm waiting for you in the lobby."

"On my way," Erica replied, her footsteps light as she made her way downstairs. Upon entering the lobby, she spotted Hawke sitting on a bench. She ran over and looped her arm through his, saying, "I'm done for the day. We can head home now."

Hawke glanced at his watch and remarked, "Just in time. We can catch the second half of the awards ceremony."

The two of them got into Erica's Mercedes G-Class.

As Erica started the car and drove out of the Special Operations Bureau, she asked, "Did you attend the event?"

"Just got back from there," Hawke replied, chuckling as he recalled the clash between the feminists and the bioweapons. "This was undoubtedly the most unique Oscars, one for the history books in Hollywood."

Erica commented, "I watched the live feeds from the command room. I didn't understand why those women's rights advocates collapsed so suddenly despite having the upper hand."

Hawke simply said, "The LGBTQ community used a group of individuals with HIV and syphilis."

Erica was speechless for a moment before saying, "That was certainly unexpected."

She quickly turned to glance at Hawke. "You didn't come up with that idea, did you?"

"No, I don't really focus on how those things are done," Hawke said truthfully. "I merely guided their thought process and let them take it from there."

Erica asked curiously, "Why did you keep such a close watch on them?"

Hawke elaborated, "In those conservative states, it's hard to say, but here in Southern California, it's a social trend. Even without my involvement, they would have quickly developed into an undeniable force. Instead of letting others control them, it's smarter to act first and have them in our hands, turning them into our tools."

Erica nodded in agreement. "We definitely need the tools in our own hands."

They exchanged smiles as they returned to the Silver Lake community and entered a well-appointed villa.

...

Hawke found the remote control, switched on the TV, and tuned into ABC just as the Oscars had reached the second half.

Erica noted, "They're about to announce the award for Best Original Screenplay. Didn't Eric get nominated?"

Hawke settled on the couch, watching the television as Samuel L. Jackson read out the nominees for Best Original Screenplay.

Million Dollar Baby was adapted, so it wasn't nominated in that category.

The future one-eyed pirate opened the envelope and announced, "The Best Original Screenplay award goes to Nightcrawler, by Eric Emerson!"

The broadcast zoomed in on Eric, the middle-aged, artistic man with a beard, who appeared ecstatic as he embraced the round-faced woman Catherine and quickly walked to the stage to accept his very first Oscar trophy.

Once he finished his acceptance speech, Hawke took out his phone, typed a text, and sent it to Eric: "Congratulations."

...

Erica said, "Best Actress has been awarded, and the winner is Hilary Swank."

Hawke awed, "Second win, such a rarity in recent years."

Next up, Julia Roberts presented the Best Director award, which, as expected, went to Clint Eastwood.

In the long history of Hollywood, no one had ever won all four major performance awards and Best Director at the same time.

Hawke remarked, "The only true competitor to Tom Cruise is Leonardo DiCaprio."

The next award was for Best Actor, and the cameras zoomed in on Tom Cruise and Leonardo.

Hawke had stirred up quite a bit during the award season; one of his planned objectives, the marginalized group project, had turned out to be a great success. The other goal hinged on this very award.

...

Last year's Best Actress, Charlize Theron, took the stage to present the Best Actor award. At this moment, Oscar history was completely rewritten!

The announcement came: "Best Actor goes to Tom Cruise!"

Without any surprises, the Oscars once again aligned with the results from the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Tom Cruise fastened his suit's buttons, striding toward the stage. On the other side, Nicole Kidman was the first to jump up and applaud, waving for others to join in, as if the winner was still her husband.

The Oscars' main cameraman and director knew how to grab attention, and immediately, a close-up of Nicole Kidman appeared on screen.

...

Erica, not fully versed in Hollywood's intricacies, asked, "Aren't they supposed to have a feud now?"

Hawke didn't respond directly but instead said, "The Oscars are still too conservative; no wonder the viewership has dwindled annually. Just consider Best Actor -- Nicole should have presented the award to Tom. If they had promoted that before the ceremony, ratings would have shot up at least ten percentage points."

Erica couldn't help but chuckle. "True, the Oscars' promotional tactics are nowhere near as good as yours."

...

As they joked, the final grand prize of the Oscars was announced -- the Best Picture statuette was taken home by the crew of Million Dollar Baby.

Clint Eastwood emerged as the big winner of the night.

Nightcrawler nabbed two little gold men.

Hawke had successfully fulfilled Tom Cruise's commission.

No sooner had the awards ceremony ended than he received a call from Tom Cruise.

...

Tom's voice burst with excitement, "Did you watch the live broadcast? I got it! I got it!"

For Hollywood actors and stars, winning an award at one of Europe's three major film festivals is also a mark of honor, but the commercial advantage and influence pale in comparison to being an Oscar-winning actor at home.

Tom, although he claimed it didn't matter, really wanted this award: "I'm now an Oscar-winning actor! Hawke, this little gold man has a part of you in it; I've decided to have a pure gold replica made for you!"

Hawke shrugged it off, saying, "You don't have to be so courteous."

"You have to accept!" Tom was a smart guy; the incidents with Pat Kingsley and Nicole Kidman attacking him had made him aware that Scientology had no real public voice and any criticisms had to be endured in silence. He wanted to maintain his relationship with Hawke: "I know you don't need such things, but it represents my heartfelt appreciation, please accept it."

Hawke considered it briefly and replied, "Alright."

Tom laughed, "I'll have it cast as soon as possible and deliver it when you move into your new home."

He then invited, "I'll throw a celebration party next week in Beverly Hills; come if you have time."

Hawke replied, "I'll make it if I can."

...

After hanging up, Erica approached and said, "Tom Cruise's links with Scientology can be problematic, tied to several deaths; you should be careful."

Hawke nodded slightly. "He's a smart guy; he knows who to mess with and who to avoid."

Erica stated, "Surviving in the chaos of Hollywood for twenty years and still standing at the top of the acting industry speaks volumes about his vision and capability."

"There's one more thing," Hawke added practically. "I've been learning from the Democratic Party. They have their own strengths in certain aspects."

Erica looked up at him.

Hawke continued, "During last year's series of incidents, as the Democratic Party faced a PR crisis, they repeatedly used Leonardo to release entertainment news to draw media and public attention away. Without my preparedness, they might have been able to escape the vortex of decline."

Those Democrats had a go-to move: whenever they were in a pinch, they'd send out Leonardo to distract the public.

After reflecting for a moment, Erica said, "That tactic is quite effective; people are much more interested in the scandals of entertainment stars, and the focus on social and political issues rises quickly but dissipates just as fast."

She added, "I read a social survey report done by my grandfather; the education level and cultural awareness of the average Americans are relatively low, leading to a result where they aren't concerned about anything beyond their own lives. They even lack a concrete understanding of regions outside the U.S., so only entertainment stars can maintain their long-term attention."

"Aiming for entertainment for the lower class, it keeps the upper tier's control strong," Hawke joked.

...

The Oscars were over, but the online news headlines were overtaken by the battle between the feminist and LGBTQ movements.

The Mattachine Society and the Feminist Majority Foundation organizations took to Twitter, igniting a fierce online feud, filling the digital space with chaos.

The latter had lost the battle offline but managed to leverage Million Dollar Baby to become the biggest winner at the Oscars, successfully fighting back online.

Hawke felt that both sides were evolving slowly, but for his current needs, it was sufficient.

He instructed Fiona, Rosa, and Solana to expand their influence in their respective organizations and gain more power.

---

In Southern California, centered around Los Angeles, the blue forces were retreating.

However, in Northern California, where San Francisco was the core, many areas still belonged to the blue camp.

In their quest to reclaim California and prevent it from turning red, preparations for the next gubernatorial election were actively underway.

Originally, the candidate was San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, but the Democratic Party internally believed he lacked sufficient experience. Although he had the background, his skills were insufficient for handling California's complex situation. They persuaded Jerry Brown, a veteran Democratic politician who had served as California's governor from 1975 to 1983, to prepare for the next gubernatorial election.

The next morning, just as Hawke arrived at the office, Edward came over and said, "News from Campos indicates that BlackRock's two bigwigs, Larry Fink and Robert Kapito, have arrived at the FBI's Los Angeles office."

*****

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