They had all grown used to the annual rhythm of enjoying her incredible films, and the sequels she made were just as beloved. It was clear that she genuinely knew how to make movies—and more importantly, she understood exactly what audiences wanted. You could say she was the kind of director who truly grasped the audience's needs and knew how to fulfill them.
If a director like that were to withdraw from Hollywood and stop making movies altogether, it wouldn't just be a loss for Hollywood—it would be a devastating blow to the entire global film industry!
So who on earth had forced her into making such a decision?
Soon, many people began digging into the earlier controversies. And once they started, they unearthed quite a bit. For example, the accounts that first posted those slanderous articles were all newly registered burner accounts. In other words, those users had signed up just to post negative articles about Laila, then never logged in again, never said anything else.
It wasn't just the original posts—even many of the reposts came from similar accounts. It was as if some invisible force was deliberately spreading those articles far and wide, trying to make sure they reached as many people as possible.
This discovery immediately drew the attention of the net-savvy crowd. After all, a huge chunk of Laila's fanbase consisted of young people—the most active group online. Among them were plenty of tech-savvy users, and even some with serious skills. Of course, Laila's PR team and a few sympathetic Facebook engineers played no small role either.
Under their lead, more and more people began to realize the entire thing was likely a coordinated smear campaign designed to tarnish Laila's name. Many of the accounts spewing toxic comments under those posts turned out to be fakes. Check their post history, and you'd see that every single thing they had written was aimed at dragging Laila through the mud.
With the help of some elite-level hackers, they even started tracing those burner accounts' IPs, only to discover that over 85% of them were tied to the same handful of addresses. Which meant someone had created a large number of accounts from one source, using various tones and identities to attack Laila.
That revelation outraged people. Especially those who had previously been misled—they now felt ashamed and furious for having been tricked into wronging Laila. And when they thought of the possibility that Laila might leave Hollywood, regret hit them hard.
The saying goes, "The deeper the love, the harsher the blame." Many of them had lashed out at Laila precisely because they cared so deeply about her and her work. At the time, they had only felt disappointment, believing that their long-standing support had been betrayed.
But now that all these findings pointed to someone plotting against Laila from the shadows, they were left with guilt over the things they had said and done. One by one, they flocked to Laila's Facebook page, flooding her with comments begging for forgiveness, pleading with her not to leave Hollywood, not to stop being a director. They swore they'd never doubt her again, that they'd never be swayed by malicious gossip, and that they would remain her most loyal fans.
After reading those comments, Laila merely smiled faintly, a look of quiet irony on her face. To be honest, she hadn't expected things to turn around this fast. She'd assumed people would be too thoroughly brainwashed to snap out of it anytime soon. If she had known it would be this easy to clear her name, maybe she wouldn't even have needed to hold that press conference.
But that thought lasted only a moment. She knew very well that these people represented only a small portion of those who had doubted her.
If she hadn't actively taken steps to reclaim her reputation, the slander would've continued to haunt her. Every time she stepped into the public eye, someone would dredge it back up. She truly couldn't stand that, which was why she had chosen to burn the ships behind her and go all in with no retreat.
If she succeeded, she'd stand at the very summit of the world—a truly legendary director. And if she failed… Well. She wouldn't fail.
She was prepared to bet everything on this film—everything she understood about cinema, every instinct and intuition she had honed over the years. She would pour all of it into this one movie.
Two lifetimes of studying film, countless years of experience and refinement—now, at a moment when the entire world was watching her, how could she not seize the chance to create something extraordinary? Moments like this won't come again.
In a way, she had Cooper to thank for all of this. It was because of him that the world's eyes were now on her. And soon, in her upcoming press conference, the entire world would learn—she was about to create a film that would challenge the highest-grossing movie in cinematic history!
It wasn't just the media watching Laila now—the entire Hollywood industry had their eyes on her, too. At first, they had been baffled by the events unfolding. They couldn't understand why public opinion seemed so blind to Laila's capabilities, or why arrogant and baseless criticisms were dominating the headlines.
But those who had dealt with the media before understood all too well: the media would do anything for a hot story, even throw integrity out the window. Yet for so many outlets to attack Laila in unison? That pointed to someone pulling strings behind the scenes. Which led everyone in Hollywood to wonder—who hated her so much that they'd go to these lengths to destroy her?
In their world, fame was everything. Sure, some people chased money, but many chased recognition. Laila, who was already wealthy, clearly cared more about her reputation. And now, someone had aimed at that very reputation with ruthless precision—undoubtedly out of malicious intent.
Who would do such a thing? Could it be...
Soon, suspicion spread throughout the industry. The methods used against Laila were so underhanded and vile that no one felt safe. If someone could take her down like this, what was stopping them from doing the same to others in the future? Was this personal, or was someone simply trying to steal Laila's place at the top of Hollywood? And if the latter—did that mean anyone with power or influence could become a target next?
But no matter how much people speculated, no one could pin down a likely culprit. After all, everyone was here to make money. Laila had collaborated, to varying degrees, with almost every major company. She had the best directors, the biggest stars, the top-tier VFX studios, even a partnership network of superheroes for joint productions, and cinema chains across the Far East. Anyone with a brain wouldn't want to fall out with her.
During the days Laila was being attacked, Hollywood may have looked calm on the surface, but underneath, tension roiled. Beyond all the finger-pointing and the few who publicly voiced support for Laila, there was also one particularly unlucky soul who got caught in the crossfire—director James Cameron.
Already feeling bitter over losing Best Director and Best Picture at the Oscars, Cameron had been in a bad mood to begin with. So when he saw the media comparing him to Laila—only to dismiss him while praising her as "great" and "a living legend,"—he was not amused.