Kazir… something happened.
Salvatore Barlo rushed straight to the editing room the moment he sensed something was amiss.
It had been a month since the film wrapped.
Kazier Gray, with his exquisite skill and focused attitude, had already completed three-quarters of the film's editing, just waiting for the sound director to finish the voiceovers and other closing matters.
Warner Bros. had high hopes for this film, having already scheduled its release for July, just needing to pick the most popular weekend to build hype for it.
Salvatore burst into the editing room, and Kazir, hearing the commotion, slowly looked up at him.
Kazir had prominent dark circles under his eyes and looked utterly exhausted, clearly not having slept well recently.
"What is it?" Kazir asked, his voice slightly hoarse.
"It's your ex-wife," Salvatore said, his expression tense and his tone urgent.
"Are you talking about Cassandra?" Kazir frowned, full of doubt, truly not expecting any news from her. "What trouble is she stirring up now?"
"This…" Salvatore hesitated for a moment, then handed him a tabloid.
Kazir took it, and the headline on the front page boldly read: [Kazier Gray Abuses Wife, Cassandra Leaves Home Unable to Endure].
"That's it?"
Kazir raised an eyebrow, a slight smirk playing on his lips, revealing a hint of disdain.
In his opinion, this didn't seem like a big deal.
"What do you mean, 'that's it'? Kazir, this is terrible for you!"
Salvatore was sweating profusely, his face instantly turning pale.
He knew what such negative news meant for an artist, especially a director like Kazir, who was in the midst of a rising career.
"Tell me the truth, did you hit her or not?"
He stared intently at Kazir, his eyes filled with worry and anxiety. He didn't want his most profitable client to get into such trouble; it would be a disaster for him.
"Relax, Salvatore, I never laid a finger on her. To be honest, I wasn't home most of that time," Kazir said with a shrug, looking relaxed.
"You're not lying to me?" Salvatore still seemed uneasy, pressing him again.
"Do I look like the kind of person who hits women?" Kazir countered.
"Hard to say… some who look like gentlemen beat their wives behind closed doors," Salvatore said with a frown, his expression serious.
"Oh, come on, I'm not Sean Connery," Kazir chuckled, a hint of teasing in his voice.
"I, I didn't say him!" Salvatore stammered, a flicker of panic in his eyes.
He knew that Sean Connery was a CAA client. Although the original 007 was old, he was still respected, had a steady stream of acting offers, and always played old-school gentlemen on screen.
But who didn't know he had admitted to hitting his wife in an interview?
"Just kidding, Sean Connery is still very impressive," Kazir said, a slight smirk on his lips and a touch of mockery in his tone.
"Kazir, do you have a plan?" Salvatore asked anxiously. At this point, he was like an ant on a hot pan, pacing frantically.
Soon after, the core creative team of the hangover arrived.
The atmosphere in the office was extremely awkward. No one expected Kazir to suddenly have such negative publicity. Many looked at Kazir with suspicion, as if scrutinizing a stranger.
Terry Semel stared intently at Kazir. He had been CEO at Warner Bros. for over five years, had seen countless storms, and knew how much such negative news could affect a film.
"If this isn't handled well, he's completely done for," Terry Semel thought to himself.
Enrico was even more anxious. He was in charge of this project, and if the hangover flopped because of this incident, not only would all his previous efforts be for naught, but he might even have to pack his bags and leave.
He had been troubled by this matter recently, unable to sleep well.
"I suggest we suppress this matter immediately!" Enrico said urgently.
"I think we should give Cassandra money to shut her up," Enrico added, a hint of anger in his voice, clearly having lost his patience.
The office was filled with gloom, Salvatore sweating cold and pacing back and forth nervously.
Only Kazir, despite being at the center of the storm, showed no signs of panic, remaining calm and composed in his seat.
"Kazir, did you anticipate this?"
Terry Semel narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint in them.
He knew very well that if Kazir's plan wasn't reliable, he would never work with Kazir again.
"To be honest, Terry, I didn't expect Cassandra to pull this stunt, but I knew she'd do anything for money," Kazir said with a firm gaze. This wasn't a baseless claim; his past experiences had long made him see Cassandra for who she was.
"You're so calm, you must have a plan."
Terry Semel looked at Kazir's composed demeanor, vaguely feeling that he must already have a countermeasure.
It turned out that when Kazir and Cassandra divorced, they had a messy year-long dispute, tearing each other apart.
That year, Kazir accidentally discovered Cassandra's infidelity, and to gather evidence, he specifically hired a private detective to follow her.
"The answer is here," Kazir said, picking up a videotape from the table and slapping it down forcefully.
Terry Semel immediately had someone bring a VCR and a television, preparing to play the mysterious videotape.
"Where did this come from?" Terry Semel asked curiously.
"I spent over three thousand dollars collecting evidence of her infidelity back then! That private detective really went all out to film this," Kazir explained, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
"I see…" Everyone suddenly understood.
As the video began, everyone held their breath, staring at the screen, afraid to miss any detail.
In the footage, Cassandra and a chubby old man were sitting in a restaurant, their faces clearly visible.
"Isn't that Bobby Dock?" Enrico whispered. He knew the old man; he was also a producer.
In the footage, their conversation was nothing special, just some flirtatious remarks, but their intimate demeanor made it obvious to anyone that their relationship was unusual.
"This video was taken two years ago, probably in August of '94," Kazir added, a cold glint in his eyes.
Then, everyone finally understood why he was showing this video.
In the footage, Cassandra was plotting with the old man about how to extort money from Kazir, even saying she would take him to court for domestic violence and rape.
"I think giving her the house back then was a wise move," Salvatore couldn't help but exclaim. Everyone knew that in such matters, society would mostly believe the woman's words.