Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 324: Riding Horses, Playing Cards, and Traveling Around the World

"Hey, Link, what are you thinking about? Play your cards quickly!"

In the Kapok Club on Hollywood Boulevard, Link rested his chin on his hand and gently stroked two smooth, white playing cards with his fingers.

But in his mind he was thinking about the date he had with Vivian Chow and a few other people two days ago. They were wearing the same light pajamas, spraying the same perfume, and had the same long black hair. They asked him to blindfold himself and guess who they were from behind.

He groped in the dark like searching for a deck of cards, hearts, clubs, spades.
But before he could guess it, Nicolas Cage knocked roughly on the table opposite him, forcing him to come back to his senses from his beautiful memories and face a group of gamblers and smokers in a smoke-filled atmosphere.

This weekend, Link had planned to stay at home and spend time with the women at home.

It was just that Nicolas Cage and a few others called him and asked him to come out and play Texas Hold'em.

He was not very interested in playing cards. No matter how much he won or lost, it could not arouse his enthusiasm. After playing two rounds, he could not help but become distracted.

Hearing Nicholas's reminder, he perked up a little and looked at the two hole cards in his hand. "Is there something wrong with the cards you dealt? Why are my hole cards so small every time? I haven't played a straight in two rounds."

"The key to playing Texas Hold'em is not the size of the cards, but the skills and luck. When I was playing in Las Vegas, I won $6 with two pairs."

Nicolas Cage said proudly while smoking a cigarette.

"You said you lost more than half a million dollars in Las Vegas last time. How come you won another 6 dollars?"

Johnny Depp asked.

"I lost again later. Someone at the poker table had better luck than me."

Nicolas Cage shrugged.

"Link seems to have good luck, why do you always lose when playing cards?"

Bruce Willis asked.

"Link answered this question. He said that the goddess of wealth does not support his gambling."

Jim Carrey winked and smiled.

"Indeed it is."

Link smiled, picked up $100 and put it in the pool.

Jim Carrey quickly followed and said he wanted to win his money.

"Link, I heard that the seven major film studios are planning to jointly suppress the films under Guess What Films during the summer vacation. The intensity of the crackdown is stronger than last year's summer vacation. Are you ready to break the blockade of the seven major film studios with strong movie box office results?"

Bruce Willis dropped the cards in his hand, picked up the whiskey glass and took a sip.

"Link, tell me quickly, I am also concerned about this matter."

"It's not just you. Who in Hollywood doesn't care about the World War II between the Big Seven and Guess What? Everyone wants to watch the fun."

Nicolas Cage and Jim Carrey said.

Link shrugged and smiled, “Guess What? Pictures is a new company, and its production and distribution capabilities are even worse than MGM, the weakest of the seven major studios. In this situation, it cannot win against Warner Bros., Disney, and Paramount, let alone the seven major studios joining forces.

What we are considering now is not how to defeat the Big Seven, but how to survive the bombardment of the Big Seven and avoid being served on the table by the Big Seven. "

"Don't be so pessimistic. The biggest winner of last summer's movie season was Seven, which was even outperformed by the well-received Forrest Gump and The Lion King. This year's movie season has your The Butterfly Effect and Tim Robbins' The Shawshank Redemption, which may be as popular as Seven."

Keanu Reeves said.

"It's difficult. Last year, Seven was a big hit mainly because of luck. This year, it's impossible. In addition, the movies released by the seven major studios during this summer vacation are all commercial blockbusters, such as Apollo 13, Waterworld, and Bruce's Die Hard 3. Before the summer vacation even started, the publicity for these movies was overwhelming.

In comparison, the themes of Guess What Pictures' films are relatively niche and not very commercial, and it is difficult for them to match those films in terms of box office performance."

Link turned over his hole cards, which were three 8s with two singles, while his opponent Depp's biggest card was 3/8/J/Q/A flush, which was slightly bigger than his, and he lost three hundred and fifty.

"Link, when I took on the role in Die Hard, I didn't know they were going to use this movie to compete with you."

Bruce Willis said.

"No need to explain. This kind of thing can't be blamed on you."

"Link, what if Guess Pictures loses the summer season?"

Jim Carrey asked.

"If we lose, we lose. Even if our movie box office loses to the Big Seven in the summer, we won't lose to any independent studio. I don't know if we can continue to win the annual box office championship, but staying in the top five is not a problem."

Link smiled confidently.

"Being in the top five is not bad either. Guess What Pictures is a new film company. As long as it can maintain the top seven level for a few consecutive years, Guess What Pictures will become a well-established film company like Warner and Paramount in the future."

Bruce Willis said.

Link nodded, picked up the hole cards and took a look. They were the 8 of Diamonds and the 3 of Clubs. He wanted to throw them away when he saw these two hole cards.

"Hey, why didn't you invite me over to play cards?"

At this time, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Joaquin Phoenix, and Edward Norton pushed open the door and walked into the room.

"Ben, I heard you were depressed. Are you better now?"

Jim Carrey grinned.

There was a flash of embarrassment on Ben Affleck's face. It sounds cool for an actor to get into the role while filming, but after the filming, thinking about what he had done in the past, like getting drunk and acting crazy in the square, it would be very embarrassing afterwards.

"Ben is fine now! We did as Link said and took Ben to the amusement park to ride the roller coaster. In less than half a day, he was back to normal."

Matt Damon laughed.

"Sounds good."

Link didn't want to fight anymore, so he stood up and gave his seat to Ben.

"Hey, thank you! I haven't played cards for a long time. I must have a great time today." Ben Affleck sat down excitedly, rubbing his hands.

Link sat in the lounge area nearby, drinking tea and chatting with Matt Damon, Joaquin and others.

Last year, "Good Will Hunting" starring Matt Damon was a big hit and won the Best Original Screenplay Award at the Academy Awards. Matt Damon became popular and became a quasi-first-line star in Hollywood. Although he is not as good as Ben, he is not far behind.

After becoming famous, Matt Damon got the leading role in many movies in succession, including the leading role in "Casino Raiders" produced by Guess What Films and the leading role in the new movie "The Rainmaker" directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Joaquin Phoenix is also doing well, often playing important roles in films produced by Guess What Pictures, including "At All Costs", "Scream", "Dangerous Game", etc.

After filming "Final Destination", Edward Norton studied in acting school for a while and recently returned to acting, but he is far behind other people in the "Final Destination" crew.

Link asked him to visit Guess Pictures when he has time, as there were two movies where the leading roles were suitable for him. He could take a look at the scripts first to see if he had any ideas about starring in them.

Edward Norton nodded excitedly and agreed.

"Edward, you're so lucky to get the role right away. You have to treat me."

Joaquin patted his shoulder excitedly.

"no problem."

Edward Norton grinned.

"It must be. If you don't believe me, ask Link."

Link was chatting with a few people when someone called him from the next table.

"what?"

Link asked, turning around.

Jim Carrey smiled and said, "Ben said that he went to WMA Agency to discuss work yesterday and saw a beautiful woman in the hallway. She was blonde, tall, not very old and looked very beautiful. Ben was attracted to her and wanted to pursue her. We persuaded him not to do so. That beautiful woman is very likely your secret girlfriend."

"Link, is this true?"

Ben Affleck looked over with a sad and angry expression.

Link was speechless, "I don't know who you are talking about. There are hundreds of female celebrities in WMA, and they can't all be my girlfriends."

"Charlize Theron is Mr. Sam Haskell's new client. Is she your girlfriend?"

Ben Affleck appeared apprehensive.

"I've heard about it from Sam, but I haven't seen it yet. Is it really beautiful?"

Link laughed.

"No, no, not beautiful, just average."

Ben Affleck said quickly.

Hahaha!
Jim Carrey, Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp and others couldn't help laughing when they heard him say this.

"Ben, that girl is an artist signed by Mr. Haskell. She will be introduced to Link sooner or later. Is it any use for you to hide it?"

Joaquin Phoenix teased.

Ben Affleck frowned and looked at Link with a wary look on his face, "Link, you have dozens of girlfriends, but I don't have any. You won't compete with me for them, right?"

"Don't worry, I never steal other people's girlfriends."

Link said.

"Hey, Ben, does Link need to fight to pick up girls? He is so charming and talented, girls will actively approach him when they see him. What you need to worry about now is not whether Link will snatch girls from you, but whether the girl you like will actively pursue Link. Once she falls in love with Link, do you still have a chance?"

Joaquin Phoenix laughed.

When Ben Affleck heard his words, his face gradually darkened, and the straight flush in his hand no longer looked attractive.

Link shook his head helplessly.

Everyone is too prejudiced against him.

His current situation is very similar to that of Guess What Films.

After the Guess What Pictures grew, it was met with hostility and exclusion from the Big Seven Studios. After he had many girlfriends, many male actors and directors were unhappy with him.

If he didn't have a high position, power and a lot of money, he would probably have enemies all over Hollywood.

So he gradually understood a truth: when a person's status reaches a certain level, he has no choice but to keep moving forward.

Once his status declines, those who once were his friends will become his enemies, and those who are hostile to him will bare their fangs and divide him up.

Link sat for a while, received a phone call, and then stood up and said goodbye.

"I bet he was out picking up girls."

Ben Affleck said with a pout.

"It was a woman's voice, speaking French, which I understand a little."

Jim Carrey nodded.

"French?"

Ben Affleck stood up and said, "Ms. Charlize Theron is also from France. Could it be her?"

Everyone looked at him with pity. The poor guy had already broken up before he even started dating.

(End of this chapter)