America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

With the arrival of summer, the weather in Atlanta had become increasingly hot.

By late morning, Hiby had left the photography studio and headed to the bustling commercial area of Gray Film and Television Center, entering the cold drink shop she had frequented the past couple of days.

After ordering a cup of fat-free ice cream, she found an empty seat and began to eat slowly.

Behind her, women at a booth were discussing celebrity gossip.

"During the filming of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' a few months ago, Spielberg's godson tried to hook up with the actress Blanchett."

The woman with a coarse voice said, "Heard he got his pants literally pulled down by Blanchett who grabbed him there twice, so hard that he didn't show up on set for three days."

A woman with a clear, middle-aged voice added, "Big stars have all been through those liberation of nature training, they're all emotionally expressive, easier to get moved than ordinary people, always like messing around."

The woman with a voice like a drake continued, "That's pretty normal, you people in Atlanta don't get much exposure. I've been with crews in New York, in London, seen so many instances of lead actors hooking up."

The one with the coarse voice rebutted, "I've personally seen Martin Davis go into Angelina Jolie's trailer, heard Jolie's ecstatic moans. Everyone thinks they just got together last year, but they've been at it since filming 'Wanted Order' here."

Another person asked curiously, "Was Aniston part of it then?"

"Probably not."

"Martin really is something, got involved with both of those arch-enemies."

The two were clearly Atlantans, quite pleased with themselves.

But the drake-like voice laughed, "You haven't seen the really juicy stuff. Speaking of Blanchett whom you just mentioned, it's said that her lower body is even tougher than her face. During the shoot of 'The Prestige' at Pinewood Studios UK, she got with Bale."

Hiby, originally enjoying her ice cream and the juicy gossip about Blanchett, Martin, and Jolie, felt quite content.

Yet, upon hearing this sentence, her hand slackened, her spoon dropped into the ice cream bucket, and her ears perked up.

The conversations behind her proceeded, "Heard that Bale got the fright of his life during a wild session with Blanchett, who's so tough. In his hurry to get off her, he ended up pulling something on Bale, causing a tear and landed Bale in the hospital for two weeks."

The other person covered their mouth in laughter, lowering their voice, "Is Bale not up to par anymore?"

These words turned Hiby's face deathly pale, and a fire of anger surged within her chest.

She had briefly been Winona Ryder's personal assistant in the nineties, and it was due to an introduction by Winona that she came together with Bale.

When it came to Hollywood stars hooking up and splitting up or onset flings, she had heard and seen plenty about them.

If it had just been Bale hooking up with Blanchett, Hiby would have been angry, but not to the extent she was now.

But Bale had deceived her!

She remembered quite clearly, Bale had said it was an accident on the set that caused the tear, and although she had her suspicions, she chose to believe him.

What these people spoke of didn't seem untrue, since other than Blanchett being the cause of Bale's injury, Hiby had heard about all the other affairs, and they matched the versions she had heard.

What these three were saying was indeed true.

"Stop talking nonsense, Bale is in the studio, be careful he might come and tear your mouths."

"Just because Bale is here, a lot of rumors about him are going around. If he wasn't here, who'd bother discussing him?"

The coarse-voiced lady said, "In 'The Dark Knight' crew where I work, there's an obvious rift between Bale and Martin. Martin is a nice guy, friendly with the crew, while Bale goes around with such a sour face, seeing no one in a good light, especially at odds with Martin. When Martin talks to him with a smile, all he gets is a rigid cold face in response."

The drake-voiced woman chimed in, "It's because of Heath Ledger. You all heard about Heath's overdose while driving in New York, right? Heard Bale put some pressure on Martin and Aniston back then, and that's when their feud started."

The coarse voice said, "That's right, I'm with the 'The Dark Knight' crew, I've heard plenty of people talk about it, and not just that. Bale didn't like Martin because he pushed for Heath Ledger to be Joker, who was then rejected by the crew due to his drug addiction. Martin ended up taking the role, and Bale felt Martin had replaced his good friend, so he's always been at odds with Martin."

Hiby, though seething with rage, hadn't lost her sense of reason and could tell the gossip was highly credible.

For she knew the dispute between Martin and Bale was just like they had described.

The person who seldom spoke then asked, "Why did Bale go so far to help Heath Ledger? This kind of situation isn't that common in Hollywood, right?"

The coarse-voiced woman answered, "It's not that rare. Leonardo and Tobey Maguire, Mel Gibson, and Stallone helped Robert Downey Jr."

The drake voice hinted somewhat somberly, "I've been with the 'Indiana Jones 4' crew, and occasionally there were mentions by Blanchett's assistant of something – the relationship between Bale and Heath was pretty unusual."

The quiet one caught on, "Rainbow?"

"Not just any rainbow, but a two-way street," the drake voice added. "One of Blanchett's assistants mentioned it, so it's probably true. If you think about it, similar gossip in the industry always turns out to be true, like the threesome rumor between Martin, Jolie, and Aniston."

The woman with the coarse voice concurred, "No wonder."

The quiet one inquired, "Who was proactive, and who was passive?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"In 'Brokeback Mountain,' Heath Ledger seemed to be the top," replied the drake voice.

"Ugh..."

A sudden retching sound interrupted them, and as the three women cast a puzzled glance, they went on gossiping, their sights now set on Morgan Freeman and his granddaughter.

Hiby covered her mouth, feeling the ice cream she had just swallowed churning madly in her stomach, a sickening urge to vomit overcoming her.

For certain reasons, what she detested most were homosexuals.

Finally, Hiby couldn't hold back any longer and rushed into the bathroom, vomiting wildly into the toilet.

The gossip circulating on the set was often quite accurate, such as the rumors from the '90s that Winona had a stealing habit, which many journalists and most people thought was nonsense, but Hiby knew it was true.

She had heard many such rumors and believed them to be true, so she believed the gossip about Bale and Heath Ledger as well.

Whether Bale was a 1 or a 0, Hiby couldn't stand it.

She vomited violently, not only bringing up the ice cream she had eaten but almost her stomach acid as well.

The three middle-aged women, after finishing their ice cream, continued to discuss the set and celebrity gossip and then left the ice cream shop together.

In the shop, there were too many people like them, eating and discussing gossip.

It was human nature, being in the film studio area, where conversations naturally revolved around celebrity gossip when people gathered.

The three of them left in different directions, and Ducks-voice took out her mobile phone and made a call, "Teacher, it's been taken care of."

On the other side, Robert was in the lounge at Gray Film and Television Center chatting with Andrew from Gray Film Industry, whispering, "I'm aware."

He sent Bruce a random letter via text.

Ducks-voice returned to her set as there was still work to do later.

Robert and Andrew talked about Martin for a while, both of whom were old acquaintances of Martin, and spoke quite sentimentally.

It wasn't long before Robert took his leave and as he was leaving the film studio, he happened to see Bruce and rolled down his window to nod at him.

The two briefly exchanged a few words.

Bruce understood that the deed was done and the effects would depend on the involved party.

Robert drove away from Gray Film and Television Center in his Cadillac.

Bruce ran some errands at the convenience store and then returned to the set on an electric bicycle.

The Joker was holding a meeting for the mob bosses of Gotham.

Martin's performance grew more proficient, reaching an incredible state; although they had to shoot the scenes multiple times to pass, it was mostly because the director wanted several takes to choose the best one for post-production.

During a break, Martin entered the resting area where Bruce came over, seeing that the screenwriter had gone over to Nolan, and remarked, "That one's been pushed out."

Martin asked curiously, "Any reaction?"

"I had someone look into it specifically, Hiby used to work briefly as Winona Ryder's assistant, she despises homosexuality." Bruce's strategies were targeted, "So I spread a rumor that they were gay, using a method of 99% truth and 1% falsehood to get it out."

This was Bruce's answer to Martin's question, "Hiby made gagging noises on the spot, then ran into the bathroom."

Martin touched the makeup on his face and said, "I see..."

Bruce reminded him, "Hiby's first love was taken away by a homosexual, so she hates them intensely, I don't think she'll be able to handle it."

Martin laughed, "Keep an eye on Bale's side; we need to play the good guys and later pull everyone from the set to watch the excitement."

Bruce quickly went elsewhere.

As the crew was wrapping up for the day, Martin suddenly saw Bruce appear at the entrance of the soundstage and quickly walked over.

People were running in from outside, whispering in the ears of those they knew, and many of the crew started heading outside.

Martin followed suit.

The perceptive screenwriter immediately followed the crowd.

Out on the open space of the soundstage lay several trailers specifically for the set, and from one of them, there came a sound of heated argument.

That was Bale's resting trailer.

"It's fake, all those rumors."

Through an open window, Bale's voice of defense could be heard, "Hiby, don't believe those set rumors!"

Hiby's voice was shrill, "I'm asking you, how did your sponge get torn? Don't tell me it was an accident on set! It's clearly because you were messing around with Blanchett!"

Bale was silent.

Hiby yelled, "You lied to me! You lied about something so important! You can't even perform for your wife, expecting me to satisfy myself with the set's souvenir statues; tell me, are you and Blanchett real or not?"

Bale remained silent.

"So it is true!" Hiby raged, "So, you became a homosexual, stirring shit with Heath Ledger? Are you out of your mind helping him get roles because he pokes you comfortably?"

At this, she gagged twice, "You're disgusting!"

Bale hurriedly retorted, "It's not true!"

"I've had enough of your lies!" Hiby opened her bag, took out the statue she'd used in the past couple of days, and threw it forcefully.

With a thud, the statue hit Bale on the head.