Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 274 Defeat Link and Share the Cake
After returning to Los Angeles, Link felt much more comfortable.

Philadelphia is located on the East Coast and has a humid continental climate, with frequent rain and snow in the last two months of the year.

The average daily temperature in December is around 5 degrees Celsius, and the temperature at night often drops below zero.

Link and his crew had to continue filming in freezing weather, some of the worst weather conditions he has ever directed.

In contrast, Los Angeles' winters are warm and pleasant, with the lowest temperature remaining above 10 degrees Celsius, which is much more comfortable than Philadelphia.

Los Angeles' unique climate conditions are also one of the important factors that make it the world's entertainment capital.

"Director Yuan, how is their training going?"

In the morning, when Link went to the studio to edit the film, he stopped by the training center to see the training of the crew members, mainly Ben Affleck, Ryan Phillippe, and more than a dozen supporting actors and stuntmen.

"Not bad. Ben Affleck and Ryan exercise regularly and have good physical fitness. I taught them some martial arts moves during this period, so there will be no problem in filming an action movie."

Yuan Heping was wearing a Tang suit, with his arms behind his back, looking like a kung fu master.

"Practice them more, especially Ben Affleck. He is Batman, and his fighting moves need to be more handsome and it would be best if he could show momentum."

"Okay! I'll train them some more."

Yuen Woo-ping said.

Link nodded, trained at the training center for a while, and then went to the studio to edit the film.

When the filming of "The Sixth Sense" was completed, the Hollywood film market also ushered in the winter vacation season.

Starting from November, a number of blockbuster movies have been released in North American theaters.

Including MGM's science fiction film "Stargate", Columbia Pictures' horror film "Frankenstein", Warner Bros.' "Interview with the Vampire", Disney's "The Santa Clause", Paramount Pictures' science fiction film "Star Trek 7", and Guess What?'s "The Mask" and "Good Will Hunting".

"The Mask" was released on November 11 and took in $11 million in 2360 theaters on its premiere, winning the weekly box office championship.

In the second week, "Interview with the Vampire" starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt was released and ranked second with 3137 million US dollars.

In its third week, "The Mask" earned $2635 million, surpassing "Interview with the Vampire," "Star Trek 7," "The Santa Clause" and other films to regain the box office championship.

The film's three-week box office has accumulated $8483 million and is expected to exceed $ million in North America next week.

Including "Dumb and Dumber", "Speed" and "Se8en", that makes four. If we include "Pulp Fiction", which was co-produced by Guess What Pictures, five movies that Guess What Pictures participated in investing in this year have grossed over million in North America, and the total box office revenue will exceed million US dollars.

This result is really enviable.

The Los Angeles Times predicts that Guess What Pictures is expected to lock up this year's Hollywood film industry box office champion in advance. This will also be the first time in Hollywood history that an independent film company has won the annual box office crown. The Hollywood film industry in the United States is ushering in a major transformation.

At the same time, the latest survey released by Business Week shows that the market value of Guess What Pictures has exceeded the $5 million estimated at the beginning of the year. Even if the valuation in the next round of financing reaches $10 billion, there will be many investment institutions willing to take over.

If the second round of financing is successfully completed, Guess What Pictures will rank eighth in the film industry market value rankings, becoming one of the veritable "New Eight".

The net worth of founder Link has risen sharply again, exceeding 30 billion or even 40 billion US dollars.

"Damn it! Is this bastard robbing?"

Michael Ovitz looked at the data in the newspaper and was so angry that he kept banging his fists on the desk.

The last time he was scolded by Link on the phone, he felt deeply humiliated and hoped that Guess Pictures would go bankrupt all the time.

But the reality went against one's wishes. In recent months, Guess What Pictures has been making great progress. One movie after another has been a box office hit, and Link has been making money continuously.

Fortune Magazine estimates Link's worth at over $26 billion, making him the highest-paid celebrity in Hollywood today.

Every time Michael Ovitz saw the news, he was so angry that he wanted to vomit blood.

He picked up the phone and called Ron Mayer, the current president of Universal Pictures, and asked them what they were going to do about Link?

Longmeyer said that in terms of film production, Universal Pictures will continue to shoot big productions to compete with Guess What and other film companies for box office revenue. At the same time, in order to get more box office revenue, Universal Pictures is also ready to cooperate with Link.

Michael Ovitz was not satisfied with this answer and asked them if they had more aggressive methods.

Now Guess Pictures' movies are selling like hot cakes in the box office market, causing other companies' movies to suffer setbacks in the box office market.

Such a Guess What film is extremely aggressive, like a giant shark in the deep sea.

If it is allowed to continue to grow without being stopped, the bottom line of Universal Pictures and other movie studios will be even more affected.

Langmeyer said that the rise of Guess What Pictures is a fact and there is no way to fix it for now. When asked if he had any good suggestions, he asked:
Michael Ovitz suggested that Langmeyer find a way to poach talents and film projects from Guess What, continue to suppress Guess What's the Film's films in terms of publicity and distribution, and increase Guess What's the Film's costs in publicity and distribution. At the same time, continue to implement a high-pressure policy on Guess What, until Guess What's the Film goes bankrupt.

"Mike, this is too difficult. Universal Pictures is not the only company in Hollywood. If we suppress Guess What?, Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros., and MGM will cooperate with Guess What?. This suppression will not only be ineffective, but will also waste time and money. It is not cost-effective to do so."

"We should do it even if it's not cost-effective. Do you want to see Guess What Movies become a giant and dominate Hollywood?"

Michael Ovitz said.

"Mike, I told you, there is more than just Universal Pictures in Hollywood. There are other companies. It's useless for you to tell me. If you can convince the top executives of other film companies, I will also be happy to cooperate with your actions.

Until then, all I can do is manage the company well, create more profits for shareholders, and strive to stay in the position of CEO of Universal Pictures for a longer period of time."

Langmeyer said he had other work to do and hung up the phone.

Michael Ovitz gritted his teeth and continued to call Shirley Lansing of Paramount Pictures, Barry Diller of Fox Pictures, Michael Eisner of Disney Pictures, Miguel Goss of Warner Pictures and others.

Invite them to join forces to suppress Guess the Movies and divide up this lucrative company.

Several people agreed and asked him to help with the contact. As long as other film companies were willing to join forces, they would also take action at the critical moment.

At the same time, Michael Eisner asked him if he would consider coming to Disney as CEO so that he could manage Disney's film production department.

Michael Ovitz was very interested. Disney is one of the seven major film studios in Hollywood and also the film and television entertainment company with the highest market value.

If he goes to Disney, he can use the company's resources to compete with Link and Guess What Pictures.

There is a lot of room for maneuver.

However, Michael Ovitz did not agree immediately, saying he needed to think about it.

He is now the president of CAA. He used his connections to contact the seven major film studios, and everyone gave him face. After going to work at Disney Studios, he became a competitor with other film companies, and it was not convenient for him to join forces to deal with Link.

So there are pros and cons to being CEO at Disney.

After hanging up the phone, Michael Ovitz thought of Nicole Kidman again. Now that Nicole Kidman has become the heroine of the "Batman" sequel, she will have the opportunity to come into contact with Link during future filming. As long as Nicole Kidman behaves more actively, there is a great chance that she will throw Link onto the bed.

As long as the two of them go to bed, everything will be easy.

Michael Ovitz called Nicole Kidman and told her that Link had finished filming "The Sixth Sense" and had returned to Los Angeles. He asked her to call Link more often, cultivate their relationship, and try to win him over as soon as possible.

"Mike, I also want to do what you say, but you know, Tom is a very suspicious person. Sometimes when I go shopping with my friends, he interrogates me about where I went, what I did, and whether I dated any men.

When I call a friend, he will interrogate me about who is calling, what I said, and my clothes, shoes and hairstyle. Everything must be dressed according to his aesthetic standards. He is driving me crazy.

He treated me like a slave and didn't allow me to do anything. I didn't have the time or the opportunity to seduce Link. Why don't you find someone else? "

Nicole Kidman sounded aggrieved on the phone.

Michael Ovitz thought about it and found that Tom Cruise was indeed this kind of person. "Nicole, don't worry, I will talk to Tom later and ask him not to restrict you too much."

"Will Tom listen to you?"

"I'll convince him."

Michael Ovitz said confidently.

"Okay, I believe you, but this matter is too risky. Once it is exposed by the media, my reputation will be ruined, and Tom will divorce me. By then, I will probably be left with nothing. I hope the company can give me some compensation in advance."

After considering it, Michael Ovitz agreed, but he also hoped that she and Link would have more substantive contact instead of standing still.

Nicole Kidman said she would definitely do it.

After the chat, Michael Ovitz called Tom Cruise again and advised him not to keep an eye on Nicole so often, to give her more free space and give her the opportunity to get in touch with Link.

Tom Cruise said that Nicole Kidman was getting more and more excessive. Not only did she sleep in a separate room from him, but she also wouldn't even let him touch her hand.

She always dresses up beautifully before going out, as if she is going on a date. He suspects that Nicole Kidman might be cheating on him.

Michael Ovitz advised him not to think too much and the most urgent task was to deal with Link. As long as Link was defeated, everything else would be easy.

After convincing Tom Cruise, Michael Ovitz took out the company's roster of actresses and looked through it, preparing to find two backup candidates. With these three approaches, he would be able to bring Link down.

(End of this chapter)