America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz-Chapter 800 - 793: Fake

Century City, Fox Tower.

Ang Lee had just arrived at work when producer Gil Netter approached him.

Both were in good spirits.

"Life of Pi" had been released over the Thanksgiving weekend and, although the box office champion title was taken by the latest "Twilight Saga," including the Thanksgiving holiday, the film still grossed $30.57 million in North America.

As of yesterday, the cumulative box office in North America had surpassed $60 million.

More importantly, the film's audience and critical reception were both very positive, competing well against main award season competitors like "Escape from Tehran."

If the award season campaign was well executed, Gil Netter and Ang Lee were confident that "Life of Pi" would recoup its entire investment just from box office revenue.

Therefore, the Oscars were crucial.

Ang Lee said, "After Thanksgiving, Disney Studios and David Finch held three screenings, attended by many of the longstanding Los Angeles-based judges."

Gil Netter urged him to be patient, saying, "Our screenings will begin soon as well."

"With multiple preliminary awards already distributed, the situation is gradually becoming clear," Ang Lee pointed to a newspaper on the table. "'Lincoln' isn't a significant threat; their main focus is on Best Actor. The frontrunners for Best Director and Best Picture are centered on David Finch and 'Escape from Tehran.'"

He was almost certain, "Our biggest competitor is definitely 'Escape from Tehran.'"

Gil Netter said, "Don't worry, I've already sent people to find those involved back then, including one who's a retired fourth-class serviceman, living unhappily."

This was a plan they had agreed upon together and Ang Lee completely agreed, but he also had concerns, saying, "Martin Davis is very tough to deal with; we should only target the film, not individuals."

Gil Netter responded, "We won't target individuals. Our focus is on 'Escape from Tehran' and its plot, not someone involved in the production."

Ang Lee said, "There are twenty days until the ballots are distributed; we need to hurry."

…

Washington State, Seattle.

Security officer Ron Stern finished his shift and quickly drove to a modest community.

He entered a nearby parking lot but didn't immediately get out of the car; instead, he rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and began smoking.

These past few years had been tough economically; his wife had lost her job a year ago and had been staying home to care for their two children.

His son, nearly thirty, had developed a drug addiction and was living off his parents.

His daughter, who was under twenty and born with intellectual disabilities, was able to care for herself as a teenager but now could no longer do so.

Ron bore all the family expenses on his own, under tremendous pressure.

He flipped down the sun visor and glanced at an old photo tucked inside, a group picture of six.

It was taken after their escape from Tehran.

After returning home, Ron had briefly enjoyed some limelight, but upon retiring and returning to his hometown as a fourth-class Marine, he received little care and had only secured a job as a bank security officer.

In a blink, more than twenty years had passed.

Mornings were spent rushing to work, often staying late at the company, and then he would return home to help take care of the children, incredibly busy.

It was only the time in the car before heading home from work when Ron could smoke a cigarette alone, let his mind go blank, and not think about the mortgage and living expenses, getting some real relaxation.

In December, the weather in Seattle was cold. A man wearing a leather jacket got out of a nearby car.

He walked over to Ron and said, "Mr. Stern, I'm Fordster from Los Angeles; I called you yesterday."

Ron remembered now; this man had indeed called him yesterday, asking, "What do you want?"

Fordster rubbed his hands, unaccustomed to the severe cold of Seattle coming from Los Angeles, "Can we talk inside the car?"

Ron pointed to the passenger seat.

Fordster got in and took out an envelope, placing it directly on the armrest: "A little something for our meeting."

From the open end of the envelope, Ron saw the green bills and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'd like Mr. Stern to do me a favor," Fordster, who had thoroughly researched Ron's family situation and knew he was in desperate need of money, was straightforward, "You were involved in the Tehran incident, weren't you?"

He smiled, "If I remember correctly, in October you had accepted an invitation from Martin Davis, David Finch, and Tony Mendez to attend the premiere of 'Escape from Tehran.'"

Ron said, "Yes, I went there for three days and then came back."

The production team not only covered their travel expenses but also hosted them warmly. They stayed in luxury hotels and attended banquets continuously before receiving valuable gifts just before returning.

"I saw you at the premiere," Foster asked, "Was the content of the movie the same as what you experienced?"

Ron remained silent. The events that had happened in Tehran years ago were at most twenty to thirty percent similar to what was depicted in the movie.

Foster tapped his fingers on the envelope resting on the armrest and said, "The experiences that you all went through together have been made into a movie that has now grossed nearly 200 million US Dollars in North America alone. Tony Mendez has made a lot of money, and so have the companies that invested in the movie, and you…"

"Tony saved my life!" Ron's gaze suddenly sharpened, "If you have something to say, you can leave. Pretend you never saw me."

Foster immediately changed his approach, "I didn't mean to target Tony. I just want you to tell the truth about the movie."

He pushed an envelope filled with money towards Ron, "You don't have to lie or make anything up, just truthfully tell the media about what happened back then, pointing out the fabrications and exaggerations in the movie."

Ron glanced at the envelope, "What do you want to do?"

Foster said, "Let the audience know the real circumstances of the incident."

Ron remained silent.

"We know you're a good person and that's why you're shunned in the company, because you dislike telling lies." While Foster spoke smoothly, he took out another particularly thick envelope and placed it on the armrest, the opening still facing Ron.

His hand pressed against the envelope, "I know of a rehabilitation center that specializes in detox; it's hard for average people to get in, but I have a spot available."

Ron asked, "I just need to tell the truth, nothing else?"

Foster smiled, "Mr. Stern, you own your words."

"Alright, I'll do it," Ron still took precautions, "but I will only give interviews in Seattle. I won't travel to any other city."

Foster lifted his hand from the envelope, "Keep the lines of communication open. You'll soon receive a call from the professional rehabilitation facility. Once your son is settled, I'll call you again."

Ron picked up the envelope, took out the money inside, scrutinized it for a moment, and said, "I will."

Foster opened the car door and left, quickly getting into another car.

Ron watched the Volvo leave the parking lot before he got out and went home. He hadn't even reached his front door when he received a call from the rehab center, and they agreed to meet the next day to discuss in detail.

After the meeting the next day, Ron truly felt relieved.

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A few days later, once his son's situation was handled, he received a call from Foster to schedule a time for the media interview.

Right after the Christmas holidays, the most influential publication within Hollywood, "Hollywood Reporter," prominently featured a column.

"'Escape from Tehran': Exaggeration and Fiction!"

"Since its release in October, the film has been highly praised, with its box office continuously soaring. Using its purportedly true historical basis for marketing, it has achieved great success both commercially and critically! But how much truth does the film really contain? We interviewed Ron Stern, a former Navy Marine and an eyewitness of the events."

The subsequent content, in a question-and-answer format, covered this interview.

Ron Stern, without any exaggeration, based on his own experiences, pointed out numerous inaccuracies in 'Escape from Tehran.'

For example, no one was actually hot on their trails at the time because in the eyes of the adversary, 71 hostages were no different from 65; The film severely downplayed the role of the Canadian diplomatic services; they did not face any attacks in Tehran, and boarding the plane at the airport went very smoothly, and so on.

As for movie details that were entirely inaccurate compared to the real events, there were countless.

At the end of the interview, the journalist specifically asked, "Mr. Scott, how much of the film do you think closely matches reality?"

Ron replied, "At most thirty percent, the events themselves are true, Tony did lead us out of Tehran, and I have been very grateful to Tony over these years. But the added fabrications in the movie adaptation are excessive, making this firsthand witness feel like it's a completely unrelated matter."

This report caused a major uproar. Alongside the newspapers, Ron Stern's exclusive interview video was broadcasted on television and was posted on YouTube, making it to the top of the trending searches.

Follow-up reports quickly ensued, with some newspapers sensationalizing the historical scholarly consensus that at that time, the Iranian side had secretly agreed with Ronald Reagan's campaign team to thaw 8 billion US Dollars in Iranian assets as a condition to release the hostages.

This narrative gained a lot of acceptance, claiming the supposed rescue was merely a front, a performance staged by the US and Iran for the world to see.

Other newspapers claimed that at the time, a deal had been struck between Tehran and Washington to procure spare parts for the F-14 Tomcat fighter jets purchased from the US, and then both sides acted together...

Ultimately, these speculations had one purpose: to cast doubt on the event itself, questioning how the movie could stand on credible ground?

If 'Escape from Tehran' was merely a commercial film seeking box office and commercial benefits, these issues wouldn't have much impact, as with every commercially successful movie there always exist various controversies.

Like 'The Matrix,' 'Inception,' 'Avatar,' and others, over the years, discussions around copyrights and plagiarism have never ceased.

However, since the film claimed to be 'based on a true event' and aimed for Oscar awards, if its truthfulness was in doubt, achieving success at the Oscars would be incredibly difficult.