Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 145 Clubhouse
After playing a round of golf, Link took a bath and changed clothes in the club hotel, then followed Jerome and others to the clubhouse to drink and chat, and make friends with other members of the "Bald Eagle" club.

During the chat, Aaron Kutcher took the initiative to talk about the last time The Hollywood Reporter published a news article revealing the inside story of Guess Pictures' acquisition of Triangle Entertainment.

The article was based on information that a senior reporter at the newspaper heard from inside Triangle Entertainment. The newspaper thought it was very interesting and could help increase sales, so it was published.

When the decision was made to publish that article, the Los Angeles Times investigative article had not yet been published.

As a result, the two pieces of news collided with each other, causing a huge impact in the entertainment industry, affecting Link and the box office of "The Witch".

In response, Aaron Couch apologized to Link on behalf of the newspaper.

Link waved his hand and said it was okay.

Before that article came out, he and Aaron Kutcher had only met two or three times and did not have much of a relationship. The Hollywood Reporter is a large newspaper in the entertainment industry and has the freedom to report or not report. Moreover, the news reported by the newspaper is true and not fabricated.

Link couldn't blame anyone even if he wanted to.

In addition, the Los Angeles Times article was also a case of accidental injury.

Over the past six months, Guess What Pictures has worked closely with the Los Angeles Times. Every time they promote a new movie, they would turn to the Los Angeles Times, and the two sides have made profits worth more than one million US dollars.

A thriving Guess What film industry is also good for the Los Angeles Times.

According to the tacit understanding between the two parties, if they knew that "The Blair Witch Project" was a movie produced by Guess Pictures, they would have informed Guess Pictures before reporting on it, or would have kept the article secret and not reported on it.

But "The Witch" is a movie released by Triangle Entertainment, not Guess Pictures, which is why the Los Angeles Times published that investigative article.

After confirming that Triangle Entertainment had been acquired by Guess What Pictures, Ross Stanton, editor-in-chief of the entertainment section of the Los Angeles Times, also called Link to explain and said that he would cooperate with Guess What Pictures to eliminate the adverse effects of the news.

At the same time, the newspaper reiterated the cooperative relationship between Guess Pictures and the newspaper's entertainment editorial department, hoping that this misunderstanding would not affect the cooperation between the two parties.

After receiving the apology, Link didn't take it to heart anymore.

"Link, I originally thought that you arranged for someone to publish the article in The Hollywood Reporter, but after listening to Aaron's explanation, I realized that was not the case."

Jerome Preston laughed.

"Why would I post this kind of news, just to amuse myself?"

"Haha, everyone knows that Richard Gere and Robert Downey Jr. don't like you, but they openly support The Blair Witch Project. If you publish this news and let them know the truth, they will probably feel worse than eating nails. Isn't this a good way to fight back?"

Jerome teased.

"Doing this will help me vent my anger, but it will also affect the box office of "The Witch", which is very uneconomical. I won't do such a stupid thing that will prevent me from making money."

Link laughed, shaking his glass.

"Link, so, you really filmed The Witch?"

Graydon Carter asked in surprise.

"No. I am a screenwriter, supervisor and producer, not a director."

Link insisted on saying this, and even if people outside now thought he was the director of the film, he would not admit it. As long as he did not admit it, no one would say he lied.

"Haha, Gray, don't ask anymore. Link is right to deny it. Although this movie has good box office, its reputation is terrible, even worse than Paranormal Activity. The promotion method also has great risks. If Link doesn't direct this movie, he won't have to bear the subsequent negative impact."

Jerome said.

"Yes, compared to Paranormal Activity, The Witch is too bad. Those shaky shots make people want to vomit. If it is Link's movie, I will have a psychological trauma after watching his movies later."

Aaron Kutcher had a look of disgust on his face when he talked about "The Blair Witch Project," and he was obviously offended by the movie.

"So you really made this movie?" Graydon Carter looked at Link in surprise. "You are amazing. The first movie cost 2 to make, the second 2, and the third ? The cost of each movie is so low, but the box office is surprisingly high. You have taken low-cost movies to the extreme. Link, there is no one else in Hollywood who can make movies like you."

“It’s not that exaggerated. I just pay more attention to publicity when releasing movies to increase the exposure of the movies. This also leads to extremely high publicity and distribution costs for each of my movies, millions or tens of millions, which is higher than the production costs of many movies.

This is equivalent to me using the money that others use to make movies to promote the movies, which also led to the poor reputation of my movies. You should have heard the nickname that everyone gave me: the second Ed Wood. "

Link laughed.

"What is this? Whether it's film art or other arts, in the end it's all a game of capital. So in the entertainment industry, no honor is more important than making money. I think those who won the Oscar for directing, if they had the opportunity to make movies like Paranormal Activity and The Witch, they would not hesitate to give up their artistic ethics and make a low-budget movie to make money. Unfortunately, they can't do it."

Aaron Couch said.

"I think so too."

Jerome laughed.

While the four of them were chatting, from time to time someone came over to say hello and greet them.

Since Link had just been on the Forbes 400 Richest Americans list and was a well-known director in the circle, many people came to say hello to him.

There were colleagues from film companies, people from the media industry, bank executives, corporate executives, etc. There were also several older celebrity actors and singers, most of whom were middle and senior managers from various industries.

With the introduction of Graydon Carter, Link also met Jay Maloney, a vice president-level partner at CAA agency.

Jay Maloney is a tall, thin middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a high-end suit and with outstanding temperament. He ranks ninth in the management of CAA agency and is responsible for the agency affairs of CAA's artists.

When Jay Maloney saw him, he asked to talk to him alone.

Link held a glass of wine and went to the terrace next to the sea to chat with Jay Maloney.

It was afternoon, the setting sun was accompanied by colorful clouds, the endless sea was connected with the sky in the distance, a few seabirds were foraging on the beach nearby, the tide kept hitting the cliffs, the popping sound came from a few kilometers away, it was magnificent.

"Director Lin, after Buried sold out last year, I arranged for someone to contact you, hoping to get your agency contract. Unfortunately, the person the company sent to contact you was incompetent, and the people from WMA signed you first."

Jay Maloney said.

Link smiled. After "Buried" was released at the beginning of last year, the three major brokerage companies CAA, WMA and ICM all arranged people to sign him. However, after hearing his request, CAA and ICM chose to withdraw. Only Sam Haskell continued to contact him after persuading the senior management of WMA.

It wasn’t that he didn’t choose CAA, but that CAA didn’t choose him.

"I heard that CAA has very strict internal management. I am used to being casual, so I am afraid I am not suitable for CAA's style."

After becoming the leading agency company, CAA began to become overbearing. It not only managed artists but also interfered in the production and distribution of film companies.

They implement a 'bundling sales' policy when working with film companies.

Since CAA owns a large number of famous directors, top stars, and gold medal screenwriters, it has monopolized the celebrity resources in the entertainment industry.

They will take the initiative to help their clients select good film projects.

Once the selection is made, the film's director, male and female protagonists, supporting actors and other candidates will be decided in advance, and then sold to the production studio together with the script. If the production studio accepts it, they will cooperate; if not, they will look for other film companies.

This form of cooperation has seriously eroded the rights and interests of production companies and made film production companies increasingly disgusted with CAA's practices.

If Link had signed with CAA, when he was making a movie, he wouldn't have to publicly cast the actors. CAA management could help him decide in advance who to cast as the lead actor, and could replace him if necessary.

Under the CAA management mechanism, personal freedom is low.

That’s why Link said it’s not suitable for CAA’s style.

(End of this chapter)