In Los Angeles, the Hollywood Reporter and Variety, two of the most authoritative entertainment media outlets, coincidentally published exclusive news on their front pages on the same morning.
The headline is very provocative.
David Fincher Strike: Bureaucracy Is Killing a Film with a Budget of Hundreds of Millions of Dollars.
"NBA Refuses to Licensing? Conflict of Interest Between Individual Investment and Basketball League."
The press release didn't dwell much on the basketball rivalry between Boston and Los Angeles, but instead followed Lin Qi's planned public relations strategy, directly criticizing "the outdated sports bureaucracy that restricts the film industry's freedom of expression."
In this film, titled * Kingmaker *, Lin Qi was the sole investor. He poured real money into it, bringing in David Fincher to direct, Allen Sorkin to write the screenplay, and Keanu Reeves and Brad Pete to star. Warner Bros.., on the other hand, was only responsible for global theatrical distribution.
The report quoted David Fincher's original words during his outburst on set, "If you want me to make a realistic film about the modern basketball industry, but you won't even let me use a jersey with the official NBA logo, I'd rather make a film about two gorillas fighting in their underwear!"
The media storm quickly escalated in Los Angeles and New York. Hollywood's financial circles began to fiercely criticize the NBA office's conservatism. But this was merely an external pressure maneuver orchestrated by Lin Qi; the real killer move had just been delivered to the desks of those NBA owners.
Phoenix, top-floor offices at American Airlines Center.
Jerry Colangelo looked at the few pages of "confidential script" in his hand, which had been "privately" delivered by Warner Bros.. publishing executive.
This is the result of Allen Sorkin staying up all night to revise it.
In this scene, Keanu Reeves' character Lin Qi is standing in front of the tactical board, giving a scathing dressing-down to a group of old-fashioned scouts.
"You bunch of dead-end workers with fixed salaries, all you see are those slow, tanky centers in the paint? Open your eyes and look at the Western Conference teams! Look at what Jerry Colangelo did in Phoenix. He didn't hesitate to make that trade and get Jason Kidd."
He didn't cling to traditional positional warfare and physical battles; he knew how to use his guards' vision and transition offense to punish those cumbersome defenses. And you're still using outdated videotapes to find the next George Mikan? If Boston can't be as efficient and space-conscious as Phoenix, we'll be left behind by the times sooner or later!
Jerry Colangelo paused for half a second as he read the lines.
No team owner could resist such an endorsement from a top-tier movie. This line hit Colangelo right where it hurt, highlighting his boldness and trading skills in the mid-90s. The film portrays Lin Qi as a disruptive, visionary pioneer in the league, a benchmark for management.
Once the film is released worldwide, Jerry Colangelo's historical status in American basketball, and even his influence within the USA Basketball, will be elevated immeasurably.
Meanwhile, in Sacramento.
The Maloof Brothers also received a special script tailored to them. The scene depicts Brad Pete's character, an old-school scout, sipping whiskey and remarking to the camera, " Sacramento? That place used to be a basketball graveyard. But look at it now, those two Maloof Brothers from Las Vegas just bought the team. They know how to run entertainment. I bet in three years they'll turn the Kings into the most entertaining and entertaining team in the league."
After reading the script, the two playboys, who were obsessed with the entertainment industry and exposure, excitedly opened a bottle of champagne in their office.
" David Stern must be out of his mind to stop this movie from being released!" Joe Maloof roared, waving his script. "If I don't get the license this week, I'm flying to New York to confront him face-to-face!"
The chain reaction quickly ignited within the next forty-eight hours.
Fueled by the media and Lin Qi's precise "historical status" rhetoric, an unprecedented joint pressure erupted within the already fractured NBA Board of Governors.
Jerry Colangelo, leveraging his immense popularity within the league, directly rallied the owners of over a dozen teams, including the Maloof Brothers, the New Jersey Nets, and the Orlando Magic, to issue a joint protest to the league office.
Fifth Avenue, New York, NBA headquarters.
David Stern sat behind his large desk, his face ashen. On his desk lay the major newspapers that had just been delivered that morning, as well as a pile of phone records from various team owners.
What troubled him most was the twenty-minute phone call that Jerry Colangelo had just made.
" David, I don't care about any grudges between Boston and Los Angeles; that's Jerry Buss's own problem." Colangelo's voice on the phone was unwavering. " Lin Qi is funding a two-and-a-half-hour film with David Fincher, documenting the league's behind-the-scenes stories in the 90s. Do you know what Roger Goodell of the NFL would think if he heard about this?"
"This deal, which could propel the entire league's brand valuation and cultural influence to new heights, is going to be blocked just because of a bit of jealousy from Los Angeles?" Colangelo's tone was stern and threatening. " David, you're a shrewd businessman. If you insist on refusing to authorize it, I don't mind uniting two-thirds of the owners to hold an emergency board meeting next week to re-vote your decision."
Stern hung up the phone and rubbed his temples wearily.
He knew he had lost.
Lin Qi didn't bother with him about the basketball rules at all. Instead, he bypassed him and used the Hollywood spotlight and his solid historical status to bring all the owners in the league who were eager for recognition and commercial exposure to a united front.
Stern was a control freak, but he was also a pragmatist. When dissenting voices were enough to shake his authority, and the matter could indeed bring about a huge breakthrough for the league, compromise became the only option.
He would never allow Colangelo to actually convene that emergency board meeting that would humiliate him.
"Have the legal department draft the authorization agreement." Stern pressed the intercom and coldly ordered his assistant outside the door, "Make the team logo and team information available to that film. But add a disclaimer: the film must not contain any dialogue that implies the league office is manipulating games. Once they sign it, stamp it and release it."
That afternoon, in a private office in Boston 'Back Bay.
The fax machine beeped softly and then ejected several authorization agreement confirmation letters bearing the official NBA seal.
Lin Qi picked up the document bearing David Stern's signature, glanced at the "No Defamation League" clause, and then pushed it toward the legal director sitting opposite him.
"Tell David Fincher that he got the realism he wanted. Get filming back on track."