Every awards season in the American film industry is rife with mutual attacks. Like the U.S. presidential election, competitors for the Oscars promote themselves while trying to undermine their opponents. This practice has existed for a long time, not just now.
Harvey Weinstein was a master at this and caused several infamous Oscar scandals.
Although the Oscars have never been about moral standards and focus on film works, negative impacts from scandals are real. For example, Harvey Weinstein attacked Roman Polanski, and although Polanski won Best Director, "The Pianist" lost the Best Picture award due to Weinstein's efforts to resurface Polanski's past child molestation case.
Another example is Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain."
These negative impacts are real and cannot be ignored.
Since the start of the awards season, many have taken advantage of the Catholic Church's attacks on Murphy and "The Dark City," making insinuations that the film incites crime, clearly aiming to suppress its momentum.
As December 31 approaches and the Academy prepares to open voting for the 86th Academy Awards nominations, more unfavorable news about "The Dark City" surfaces.
Murphy can see that many of these negative stories come from Leonardo DiCaprio, as they mainly target the character of the magician and his actor, James Franco. Despite 20th Century Fox, Stanton Studio, and Franco's team never formally announcing their bid for Best Actor, their submission was already known, and it was easy for outsiders to find out.
Moreover, it's not hard to discover that CAA is not likely to support Matthew McConaughey too much but will fully assist Franco in his bid for Best Actor.
Clearly, DiCaprio sees Franco as his top rival for the Best Actor Oscar this year.
Although DiCaprio has no personal feud with Franco and even has some friendship, such relationships mean nothing when the Best Actor Oscar is at stake.
When Murphy, Gal Gadot, and Bill Ross discussed how to deal with DiCaprio last month, Franco was present and never objected.
Competition is the norm in this industry.
However, compared to DiCaprio's aggressive tactics, Murphy and Franco have remained silent. This silence is not a sign of weakness but a strategy of waiting.
They are waiting for two things: the detailed investigation results from professionals hired by CAA and the most opportune moment.
With the 86th Academy Awards nomination voting approaching, this timing is perfect.
Right after Christmas, several media outlets under 20th Century Fox, Fox Entertainment Channel, and numerous websites and social platforms simultaneously broke a shocking news story.
"Leonardo DiCaprio Suspected in World's Largest Money Laundering Case!"
Such a headline is nothing short of shocking.
The content is equally astounding.
"Reliable sources indicate that from 2009 to 2013, the well-known 1MDB Foundation misappropriated funds totaling $3.5 billion. These funds were illegally transferred through bank accounts in the U.S., Singapore, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and other places, eventually ending up in the pockets of certain high-ranking Malaysian officials… 1MDB became their money laundering tool."
"Part of this money flowed into several charitable foundations under Leonardo DiCaprio's name."
"This money is involved in multiple corruption cases in Malaysian politics. One key figure, frequently active in Hollywood, is Malaysian official Jho Low, a central figure in the 1MDB Foundation!"
"Jho Low is very close to DiCaprio. According to sources close to DiCaprio, Jho Low has been DiCaprio's regular 'drinking buddy' since at least 2010."
"Thanks to Jho Low's investment, Riza Aziz, the son of a prominent Malaysian official with significant influence in Malaysian politics, and Joey McFarland jointly established Red Granite Pictures!"
"Everyone knows that this company is the investor in DiCaprio's 'The Great Gatsby.' In the film's closing credits, it even says 'Special Thanks to: Jho Low.'"
"Confirmed documents show that most of the investment funds for 'The Great Gatsby' came from the 1MDB Foundation. Once this money was converted into legitimate movie profits, it was transferred through special accounts and channels into the accounts of some Malaysians and DiCaprio's numerous charitable foundations."
"Sources reveal that Jho Low's misappropriated funds were not only used to invest in DiCaprio's films but also significantly contributed to his foundations. At DiCaprio's birthday party this year, Jho Low and Joey McFarland purchased over $3 million worth of champagne as fundraising for DiCaprio's charitable foundation, and the source of these funds is unknown."
"DiCaprio, who rose to fame with 'Titanic' in 1997, established the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998. Since 2008, the foundation has donated $59 million to 112 projects in 48 countries."
"The DiCaprio Foundation is set up as a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) and is not itself a non-profit organization. It is affiliated with the California Community Foundation, which is a non-profit. According to U.S. regulations, the DiCaprio Foundation does not need to disclose its income and expenditure details, making it difficult for people to understand its financial status."
"While the DiCaprio Foundation operates non-transparently, DiCaprio is closely associated with the main suspects in the 1MDB money laundering case, raising suspicions about the numerous financial interactions between them. Is this Hollywood superstar involved in a major international money laundering case?"
"There have long been questions about the DiCaprio Foundation: Who pays the salaries of its six employees? Who covers the costs of its events and other operating expenses? What are the total management costs of the foundation? How much of the raised funds are spent on operations, and how much is actually used for charity?"
"These non-transparent options may have provided convenience for international money laundering!"
In his Beverly Hills mansion, DiCaprio slowly put down the newspaper. Right after Christmas, he saw this news online, prompting him to urgently investigate internally and call Jho Low to question the source of the funds.
To some extent, DiCaprio didn't know the source of the 1MDB funds, or rather, he didn't want to know.
DiCaprio had never asked, and Jho Low had never mentioned it. Everything was handled by the foundation's employees, and DiCaprio never got involved.
This way, even if something happened, it would be easier to distance himself from it.
However, what DiCaprio didn't expect was that initially, the news only spread online. By the next day, not only did Fox News cover it, but the freshly published Hollywood Reporter also featured related news...
Clearly, someone was pushing this behind the scenes.
He turned his head and looked south through the large glass window. A few miles away was Wave Manor!
"You..." He murmured, "You're really holding a grudge! Such a small matter, and you're still after me!"
DiCaprio shook his head. He had merely nudged the original author of "The Wolf of Wall Street" a bit, but Murphy Stanton turned against him, relentlessly pursuing him and now trying to ruin his Oscar bid.
Although he knew that even if these matters were proven, they wouldn't cause much legal trouble for him, DiCaprio understood that with so many reports in the media, backed by seemingly credible evidence, especially involving "The Great Gatsby," his bid for Best Actor would definitely be affected.
Having been in the industry for nearly thirty years, DiCaprio was used to major ups and downs and had encountered all kinds of situations. Although this matter was troublesome, he didn't panic but kept making calls, discussing countermeasures with his team and the 1MDB Foundation.
Panic and anger wouldn't help. DiCaprio, no longer a naive young man, understood this simple truth.
Besides, just because there's such news doesn't mean he'll lose! Just like when he attacked James Franco, he didn't believe this would guarantee his win.
After making and receiving numerous calls, DiCaprio continued to listen to advice and discuss strategies. As a Hollywood superstar and a film company owner who could manage directors like Martin Scorsese, he wouldn't give up easily.
There was still time until the Oscar ceremony, and everything was still uncertain.
But after the New Year, as the 86th Academy Award nomination announcement approached, the media was flooded with negative news about him and the money laundering case.
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