Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 243: Continue to hype
"Se1.61en" has been the box office champion for consecutive years, with a cumulative North American box office of million US dollars.

According to the current growth trend, it will not be difficult for the film to break 200 million at the North American box office. There is also a great chance to catch up with "Forrest Gump" and get 300 million US dollars or even more.

Despite the joint suppression by the seven major film studios, "Se7en" was still able to earn so much box office revenue, which is undoubtedly a mockery of Michael Ovitz and others.

It's useless to mock what they do.

"Keep hyping him up for me. No matter how much it costs, you have to hype him up for me. I want to ruin his reputation and make him stink."

In the office, Michael Ovitz was yelling on the phone, his expression becoming extremely ferocious.

"Michael, let it go. The O.J. Simpson murder case is too popular. We can't suppress it. We can't stop Guess What Pictures from using this case to hype the movie. Seven is doomed to be a big hit. What we can do now is to accept the reality and stop the loss in time. If we continue to spend money to suppress the movie, we will only lose more money."

Longmeyer persuaded.

"Let go? I won't agree."

He lost the bet with Link last year, and this year he teamed up with the seven major studios to gang up on Link, but he lost again?
He was not reconciled.

"In May, we tried to suppress Speed, but it didn't work. In July, we mobilized more resources and concentrated all our efforts to suppress Se7en. If we fail again, how will others view us? Will they think we are incompetent? No, I must win. I, Michael Ovitz, will never be an incompetent person."

After the huge success of "Seven", Michael Ovitz didn't get enough rest for many days. He had heavy bags under his eyes, fine lines on his forehead and corners of his eyes, and he looked very manic.

"But what else can you do? Use the media to spread the word that Link is the murderer?"

Longmeyer shook his head. "It's useless. Not to mention that someone of Link's status would not do such a stupid thing. Even if he did, those lawyers would make him innocent. You are now spending money to throw dirty water on him, which is equivalent to spending money to fight a public opinion war. Are you richer than Link? Secondly, you spent money to hype him up as a murderer. Killing people to promote the movie is indirectly helping him promote the movie. There is no benefit in doing this. Why do you still do it?"

Michael Ovitz clenched his fists tightly. “Are we just going to watch Link’s new movie become a big hit and make a lot of money?”

Longmeyer said, "What does it matter? Link is still in Hollywood. We will have more time and more opportunities to deal with him in the future. As long as we can find the right time next time and concentrate our strength to attack Link's vital points, we may be able to destroy Link in one fell swoop."

Any chance?
Michael Ovitz narrowed his eyes and thought of Nicole Kidman's honey trap. This might be an opportunity.

But he had to accept this failure, accept the fact that he joined forces with the seven major studios to suppress "Seven" but failed miserably. He could not suppress the anger in his heart. He wished that Nicole Kidman would sleep with Link immediately, let Tom Cruise catch them in the act, and then ruin Link's reputation through the media.

Unfortunately, this is somewhat difficult to implement.

Boom boom boom!
Michael Ovitz's secretary knocked on the door and told him the latest news.

Since many people have recently suspected Link of being the murderer, Link walked into the Los Angeles Police Department this morning and took the initiative to explain the situation to the police. He also asked the police to make a public statement saying that the matter had nothing to do with him.

Bang!
Upon hearing the news, Michael Ovitz picked up an ashtray full of cigarette butts and slammed it hard on the floor.

"This bastard is hyping things up again. We are all being used by him."

This is indeed the case. When Link's car appeared at the police station, dozens of media reporters followed and reported on it.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Link entered the police station at 10:23 a.m. and came out at 10:41 a.m. According to people familiar with the matter, after entering the police station, Link talked with Police Chief Robert Luna and Sheriff Forman, who was in charge of investigating the case. The whole process lasted about 14 minutes, and Chief Luna finally escorted Link out personally.

Chief Luna was interviewed by reporters in the lobby of the police station and said that Link could not be the murderer. None of the evidence collected by the police involved Link. Please stop spreading rumors and suspect innocent people.

Since Link is a billionaire and a world-famous figure, and the current popularity of the "Simpson Murder Case" is no less than that of the 92 presidential election.

When two important news elements are linked together, it becomes big news.

This incident was quickly reported and reprinted by major media outlets across the United States, attracting a lot of attention and heated discussion.

It was not until 17 days after Simpson murdered his wife that the Los Angeles police announced the preliminary results of their investigation. Simpson was still the main suspect in the case. He was in the villa next door on the day of the incident. He had the time and motive to commit the crime.

Among the evidence released by the police, two items were related to the movie "Seven Deadly Sins".

Three days before the incident, Simpson and his friend Collins watched this movie in a community cinema. Simpson praised the movie and liked Morgan Freeman's performance.

As for the red word "Greed" on the wall, experts found that it was written with spray paint, not the victim's blood.

According to neighbors, the scarlet letter had already been there a few days ago. It was not the handwriting of the murderer on the night of the crime. It might have been a graffiti left by a fan of "Seven Deadly Sins" when passing by the villa a few days before the crime.

After the hit movie "Seven", this kind of graffiti has appeared in many places. It is a kind of popular culture and is not an abnormal phenomenon.

Finally, the police announced that the red word "Greed" on the wall of the crime scene had nothing to do with the case.

However, Simpson had watched "Seven" three days before the incident. The murder plot in the movie might have stimulated him and aroused his urge to commit the crime, thus imitating John Doe's murder.

Police have not ruled out this possibility.

After the police made a statement, Link and Guess What Pictures were temporarily cleared of suspicion.

Despite this, the media is still full of arguments that Link is guilty.

Entertainment Weekly commented that even if Link did not kill anyone, Simpson had watched Seven Deadly Sins before committing the crime and was stimulated by the movie, which made him become so extreme and do such a cruel thing.

Link's film is suspected of incitement to crime, and he is not innocent at all.

Some media also said that "Seven Deadly Sins" promotes violence, is likely to induce crime, and should be banned from screening.

In order to clarify these rumors, reverse the negative impact that negative public opinion has brought to him and his company during this period, and also to promote the movie.

Link and the crew took time out to participate in interviews and talk shows with multiple media outlets, openly discussing "Seven" and the O.J. Simpson scandal.

(End of this chapter)