To be fair, although Vin Diesel had made a na for himself through the Fast & Furious series, in the talent-saturated Hollywood, a perforr like him, whose other works were diocre at best, could only be considered a second-tier star. Outside of the Fast & Furious franchise, his other films had minimal impact.
If it weren’t for his accidental death, it would never have caused such a huge stir.
For stars who are important symbols in popular consur culture, death often leads to a significant boost in their influence—a harsh yet absurd fact. Especially when Hollywood stars die young at the peak of their careers, it sparks public mourning and admiration, strengthening recognition and worship of the star.
From Jas Dean, who embodied the "fallen generation," to River Phoenix, who perished amid drugs and recklessness, to Jonathan Brandis, who fell after reaching his peak, all followed this pattern.
More recently, the sudden death of Heath Ledger from prescription drug overdose not only garnered global mourning but also helped The Dark Knight achieve massive success and secured him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
In today’s social context of popular culture, the essence of a celebrity is essentially a commodified image. As a comrcialized and content-stripped pure image, stars are inevitably constrained by the comrcial system; even death cannot free them from the grip of the industry.
Not only the sowhat known Fast & Furious 5 cast in Hollywood, but even the movie’s main antagonist, l Gibson—who had long disappeared from Hollywood—also appeared in this marketing spectacle.
"Vin Diesel was a good man. He was diligent, never let Hollywood get to his head. He knew life was far more important than Hollywood and lived accordingly. Knowing him was a blessing."
In the lounge of Duke’s mansion-style estate, the TV broadcast showed l Gibson being interviewed. Duke sat on the sofa, left hand supporting his chin, watching the interview quietly until it ended.
The face on TV was noticeably aged and sowhat unfamiliar; Duke had nearly forgotten him. Indeed, l Gibson hadn’t appeared in North Arican mainstream dia for many years.
He had long known that Vin Diesel and David Ellison had brought l Gibson from Australia to star in Fast & Furious 5. He didn’t interfere much, as it couldn’t change Gibson’s fate anyway.
It wasn’t until Vin Diesel’s fatal car accident, when Universal Pictures and Sky Flim Productions launched massive publicity, that Duke rembered Gibson could still be utilized.
Tina Fie, sitting beside him, quickly skimd a docunt delivered by Panny Kallis, confird it, and handed it to Duke.
She said, "After all these years, this Aussie wildman still hasn’t improved a bit."
Duke flipped through it briefly, then placed it on the coffee table between the two sofas, nodding to Tina Fie. "Proceed according to plan."
"Mm."
Tina Fie took the docunt, stood up, and left the lounge.
Fast & Furious 5’s publicity over the past ten days had been unusually intense. Leveraging Vin Diesel’s death, it almost completely overshadowed The Avengers.
Though Duke didn’t believe it would affect The Avengers’ opening, Fast & Furious 5 was releasing the following weekend. If the sentintal effect kicked in, Fast & Furious 5 would explode at the box office, and The Avengers’ second-weekend revenue would surely take a huge hit.
He was well aware of the terrifying power of sentintal marketing.
Thus, Duke and Warner Brothers devised corresponding strategies. While they couldn’t eliminate the impact of Vin Diesel’s death, they aid to disrupt part of the sentintal effect.
"Fast & Furious 5 is a pig being hyped up; don’t over-consu Vin Diesel in marketing."
Similar voices gradually appeared in Warner-related dia.
Paul Walker was undoubtedly a key figure in morializing and promoting Vin Diesel’s posthumous influence, and much dia attention focused on him.
Warner’s TMZ repeatedly published articles revealing, "Most of Paul Walker’s friends are photographers, stunt personnel, and other crew. He and actor Vin Diesel weren’t really close. Though he tried to hide it, while they might interact publicly to promote films, privately they avoided contact. After Vin Diesel’s death was announced, Paul Walker imdiately flew to California to handle many affairs and visit his family. To his friends, these actions seed ridiculous and ironic."
l Gibson was also scrutinized by many Warner dia outlets, revealing not only past drug use but also connections with multiple extremist organizations in Australia and the Middle East...
However, none of this could truly impact Fast & Furious 5.
The real attack point was still on Vin Diesel himself.
Under certain people’s incitent, Vin Diesel’s current girlfriend, Paloma Jiménez, accepted a TMZ exclusive, claiming she would officially sue the deceased Vin Diesel and handed so key evidence to the dia.
There were two video recordings, posted imdiately on TMZ, social dia, Google, and Warner’s online dia in highly visible positions. Thanks to the effect of Vin Diesel’s fatal accident, the videos garnered over fifteen million views in just three days.
Viewers saw a Vin Diesel very different from the one they mourned and sympathized with. Beneath his robust physique was a twisted heart.
The first video lasted eight minutes, showing Vin Diesel abusing his girlfriend Paloma Jiménez. The burly man in the film not only slapped his girlfriend but also shouted furiously with a bat: "I really want to smash your head with this cricket bat! You have no brain or soul left. I’ll bury you in the garden!"
The second video showed a conversation between Vin Diesel and Paloma Jiménez, in which he admitted to abusing her.
In the footage, Paloma Jiménez accused him: "What kind of man are you? I’m holding our child, and you just knocked out my teeth."
Vin Diesel sneered coldly: "Oh, are you angry? You deserve it."
Then, almost perverse, he raged: "You didn’t satisfy my sexual needs, your function is defective, you must always smile."
When Paloma said she wanted to stay at a friend’s house, Vin Diesel went even more insane: "You treat her better than , I treated you so well, yet you see as trash."
Paloma could only reason with him: "You should see a doctor; it seems you’re seriously ill."
Vin Diesel laughed coldly: "I don’t need a doctor; I need a fully functional woman!"
Then, he violently attacked Paloma Jiménez again, even using a whip.
After exposing the evidence to the dia, Paloma Jiménez formally reported to the Los Angeles Police Departnt and admitted that she had been suffering sexual abuse from Vin Diesel.
The Los Angeles Police also announced that even though Vin Diesel was deceased, they would conduct a thorough investigation into the case.
The dia scene beca even more intense, with voices both praising and slandering Vin Diesel everywhere. Those glorifying Vin Diesel could only rely on sentintality, while those tarnishing him produced real evidence, such as the videos.
This undoubtedly affected many who had sympathized with Vin Diesel.
Duke and Warner Brothers did not hope this would cause a major negative impact on Fast & Furious 5, but only aid to reduce so of the sentintal effect stemming from Vin Diesel’s death.
Two days later, adult film actress Violet Kowal from the San Fernando Valley released a video to the dia, in which she and Vin Diesel were the main participants.
The adult actress clearly sought publicity through this, but the clear footage made her claims quite credible.
In an interview, she stated that during Paloma Jiménez’s pregnancy, she had encounters with Vin Diesel in his office and residence eight tis, and that he indeed had abusive tendencies. She also expressed willingness to testify for Paloma Jiménez and submit to a polygraph test.
Although this could not fundantally reverse public sentint, it did affect the public’s sympathy for Vin Diesel’s death in the car accident.
In the comnts section of Vin Diesel’s official social dia account, praise and morial ssages were no longer unanimous; so dissenting voices appeared.
"Your actions are simply disgusting."
"Scum like you should have died sooner."
Several won’s rights organizations across the U.S. also stated they would intervene in the abuse case between Vin Diesel and Paloma Jiménez, emphasizing that if Paloma’s evidence was true, Vin Diesel did not deserve any sympathy from won.
Hollywood is a battlefield without gunfire, where all participants fight for money and fa. It is an arena as intense as any business circle, and Duke never feared competing with anyone.
Universal Pictures and Sky Flim Productions, of course, did not sit idle and continued counterattacking, but Duke and Warner Brothers were well prepared. The Avengers had a far more solid foundation than the Fast & Furious series and was not easily shaken by anyone.
A fiercely competitive sumr blockbuster season had officially begun. To erge victorious, one not only had to perform well oneself but also suppress competitors. Every Hollywood company operated this way; the notion of a smooth, competition-free release that collects box office revenue exists only in fantasy.
Aside from tarnishing Vin Diesel’s image, Duke never relaxed in promoting The Avengers.
.....
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