Watching the tide of public opinion turn increasingly against Laila, Cooper couldn't help but regret the foolish choices he'd made in the past two years. He should have done this sooner. All that time, wasted.
Even though he had made quite a bit of money through film investments, not a cent of that truly belonged to him.
At least now, he had finally found the right strategy.
Let's see how she planned to escape from this net he'd spun—a net filled with barbed hooks. Once caught in it, any attempt to flee would only tear the skin and bleed the soul.
The scandal was now stirring up so much noise that even international media had begun paying attention.
After all, the issue of women being marginalized in the film industry wasn't unique to the United States—it happened everywhere.
That said, not everyone saw it as a matter of gender discrimination.
Some people genuinely believed that men earned more simply because they contributed more.
Take commercial films, for instance—most of them were centered around male leads. Female-led blockbusters? Rare. Practically nonexistent.
Why was this the case?
In the end, it all came down to money.
Male-led films attracted larger audiences—both men and women were drawn to them, which translated to better box office numbers.
Female-led films? Not quite the same.
Sure, romantic comedies and chick flicks had their female audience—and a few couples as well.
But men? Not many were interested. And even among women, the enthusiasm wasn't always strong enough to drive huge numbers.
Just look at the box office rankings in film history—how many top-grossing films had female leads?
If male actors brought in bigger profits, then wasn't it fair that they got paid more?
Why did this always have to be about sexism?
It wasn't a wrong argument, necessarily.
But were female-led films really that undesired?
Not exactly.
The reality was that the industry was male-dominated.
It was the men who built the system around male heroes and treated female-led projects with open disdain—unless they could see those movies raking in huge profits.
When Laila's Kill Bill premiered, there had been a brief spike in interest in female-centric action films. Even Catwoman was rushed into production.
And just like in history, it flopped spectacularly.
That brief wave of interest in female-led films died off without a sound.
In the East, the situation wasn't that different.
At the same level, male actors still earned about a third more than their female counterparts.
But there was one key difference: Eastern audiences were much more open-minded.
One obvious example—Western audiences rarely liked Eastern films or actors.
To them, all Asians "looked the same." They couldn't tell who was who, let alone follow the story.
But Eastern audiences were the opposite.
They liked watching both Eastern and Western actors.
Black, white—didn't matter. As long as the story was good, they embraced it.
Maybe this was getting off topic, but the point remained:
Laila's situation was having a global impact.
The interesting thing was:
Outside of America, the reaction was far less intense.
Not because people didn't care, but because they thought it was all a giant waste of time.
An old Eastern is saying:
"The person in the game is lost; the onlooker sees clearly."
The Americans caught in this scandal had already lost sight of the truth.
But what about the onlookers around the world?
They saw it clearly—and even felt secondhand frustration for the Americans.
What was wrong with Laila's films, exactly?
In ten years, she'd made ten films, won countless awards, and brought in billions at the box office.
How could she not be considered "great"?
Why couldn't she be called a "living legend"?
Since the birth of cinema, had there been another director who'd achieved so much in just a decade?
Every award-winning film of hers was there a single one unworthy of the prize?
When she was even younger, she'd lost out on several awards because of her age. That was real discrimination.
And now? The American public dared to brand her as a thief of awards?
The thought was outright laughable.
Among all nations, it was likely the East that adored Laila the most.
Every time her films were released there, they were met with overwhelming enthusiasm—
Even Hollywood's biggest names had never enjoyed such treatment.
Let's not forget—she had even appeared on the Spring Festival Gala.
Older generations knew her name well and recognized her as a talented Hollywood director.
And the younger generation?
They loved her even more.
Not just her—Roy had a massive fan base, too.
After all, in a world obsessed with appearances, who could resist that face?
So when Eastern fans saw her being so viciously slandered, they were furious.
"If America doesn't want Laila, we do! Let her come to the East—we'll give her whatever she wants! Whatever she wants to shoot, however many people she needs—we'll support her all the way. And best of all, there won't be any of that messy drama here!"
"What's there to argue about? It's so obviously a smear campaign."
"Exactly! Some jealous hater clearly launched this to destroy her reputation. Her films are incredible—everyone's seen that. What's the controversy even for?"
In the East, they often say:
Where there are people, there is a battlefield.
With such a large population, schemes and rivalries were common.
Even ancient emperors once said, "There is joy in struggling with others."
So when it came to mind games and manipulation, Easterners were the original masters.
That's why, to those familiar with how Hollywood worked, the truth of what had happened to Laila was painfully obvious.
They loved Laila not just because she had appeared on the Spring Gala, or because she made films they liked.
They loved her because she understood Eastern culture.
Easterners always had a soft spot for foreigners who could speak their language.
Even if all they said was "Hello" or "Thank you," it would still earn warm smiles and goodwill.
But Laila?
She didn't just say a few words—her fluency was so perfect that if you closed your eyes, you'd think you were listening to a native speaker.
No wonder people loved her so much.
More than that, she had brought The Lord of the Rings—a film destined to be etched into cinema history—to the East for shooting.
She had showcased the breathtaking beauty of Eastern landscapes to the world.
She had also shattered the Hollywood stereotype that Asian actors could only play walk-on roles or background characters.
In her films, they had real screen time and roles that showed off their talent.
A foreigner like her—
How could the East not love her?
And now, seeing her so unfairly attacked, they were heartbroken on her behalf.