Just after Jennifer Lawrence left with the director, four heads popped up from behind a trunk.
Among them, a blonde, blue-eyed, strikingly beautiful white girl stared after Jennifer's retreating figure with a look that mixed jealousy and bitter resentment.
A curly-haired Latina girl beside her chuckled and said,"Irina, your plan worked. Let's hurry and sneak some pictures, then upload them online."
Another white girl added,"Let's see if that little bitch Jennifer doesn't suffer a total social death this time. Hehe, make sure we catch all the key parts—zoom in close. It'll be scandalous."
The last one, the girl, looked a bit nervous."A-Are we maybe going too far with this?"
"No, of course not. I mean… fine, I'm in."
"Gogogo, let's move! I can't wait anymore!"
"Let's loop around the back. I know that office—there's a back door that opens right toward the couch. They're probably already doing it on the sofa."
Swoosh—!Three pairs of eyes turned to Irina.
She froze, then quickly blushed and stammered,"No, I just snuck a peek… I didn't do anything!"
A little too defensive, maybe?
The three girls crept toward the back door. But before they could peek inside, they heard a heated exchange from within.
"Stop! Sir, please show some respect. This isn't what I wanted."
"Haha, don't pretend anymore, Jennifer. You know I can offer you roles. You're the one who came on to me this time."
"I did not! I would never!"
"Really? Then take a look at this letter:'Dear Producer, I hope to gain more opportunities and am willing to offer anything in return for your support. —Jennifer Lawrence.'"
"That's a lie! That's not from me—I never wrote anything like that!"
"Maybe. Maybe not. But either way, Jennifer, you know why I gave you more scenes lately. Shouldn't you be… grateful?"
"I am grateful, sir."
"Gratitude isn't just words, sweetheart. I've got a new film about to be greenlit. If you cooperate, I'll promise you the female lead—right now."
"F*ck," Irina whispered, clenching her fists. "That old bastard never gave me promises like that."
Swoosh—!The eyes turned again.
This time Irina didn't pretend."What are you all looking at? In Hollywood, anyone who wants a decent role goes through this! Why should Jennifer that bitch get to be the exception?!"
Clearly, Irina's hatred of Jennifer wasn't just about the role.
"Are we still filming? I don't think Jennifer would agree to Director Corey's demands," Tyra whispered.
"Hmph, she's just pretending," another scoffed. "Just wait—she'll cave in. Unless she doesn't want the role anymore. It's just a small supporting part. Even if they re-shot everything, it wouldn't take much effort."
No sooner had the words left her mouth than a loud smack rang out from the makeshift office, followed by Director Corey's stunned voice.
Bang!
"You dare slap me?! You don't want your role anymore?!"
"Do whatever you want. I'm not agreeing to your disgusting terms. Goodbye!"
Creak!Bang!
The door slammed shut, leaving only the producer's angry cursing behind.
"Bitch! Your role's gone!"
"Not just this movie. You're blacklisted from all my productions, you little whore!"
"Who the fuck do you think you are? I want to see if anyone else can give you these opportunities besides me!"
Outside the window, the four girls stared at each other in stunned silence.
After a while, the brown-haired Latina girl asked quietly,"So… what now?"
Irina smirked, but quickly wiped it off."That bitch didn't sleep with him. Let's just pretend none of this happened."
With that, she quietly retreated.
The remaining three girls also left.
On the way back to the set, the Latina girl looked at Irina, who was walking briskly in front of her, and asked quietly, "Do you think she'll go find Director Corey? Take away the role that once belonged to Jennifer?"
A trace of disdain flashed in the white girl's eyes as she replied, "I'm sure Eliza will be in the director's office tonight."
The Asian girl, Tyra, asked, "What about us?"
"Hmph, of course we have to unite to deal with her, just like we did with Jennifer," the Latina girl said matter-of-factly.
The conflict won't disappear—it will just be shifted.
Back at the Disctrict 9 studio
"Cut, guys, you did a great job. This one is over. Let's take a ten-minute break."
At that moment, Martin's assistant came jogging up and whispered in his ear,"Mr. Meyers, that girl Jennifer is back again, but… I think she's been crying."
"Martin!"As soon as she saw him, Jennifer couldn't hold back any longer. She ran over and clung to him, breaking down into sobs like a pitiful little girl.
Martin held her gently and gave Robert a quick wink behind her back, casually flipping the middle finger. Then he softly patted Jennifer's back and asked warmly,"What happened, Jennifer?"
"Martin… the producer, he…"
As Jennifer recounted the whole story in painful detail, Martin's thoughts were—
Well, frankly, not very moved.
In Hollywood, what young actress hasn't suffered some form of injustice? Some more, some less—Big star or Small Star it's part of the game.
The irony? These two would go from strangers to close friends after this.
Even second-generation celebrities like Robert Downey Jr. have been bullied. The person who bullied him was the Australian elder Mel Gibson.
Interestingly, these two didn't know each other before their conflict, but later became very good friends.
In the original timeline, after Robert Downey Jr. was released from prison, he was relegated to making independent films and B-movies. It was Mel Gibson who recommended him for the role of Iron Man.
Later, after Mel Gibson's controversy (anti-Semitic remarks), before attending an award ceremony, Robert Downey Jr. strongly insisted that Mel Gibson present the award to him. At the same time, he publicly begged everyone to forgive his good friend.
He said, "In fact, I asked Mel to give me this award for a reason. When I couldn't shake off my drug addiction, he told me not to give up hope and urged me to find my faith again. I implore you, the tolerance you once gave me should also be extended to him. Let him release the past so he can continue contributing to our industry without any shame..."
In a 2014 interview, Robert Downey Jr. even claimed, "Unless it's directed by Mel Gibson, 'Iron Man 4' won't even be considered."