Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 336: The Hard-working Tycoon, the Lost King of Hollywood

"Look how thin you have become!"

"Yes, I'm quite tanned."

"After you're done, just rest more at home, and don't rush to make a movie. You're not an ordinary director, no one is urging you to make a movie."

After returning home, Liu Xiaoli, Monica, Jennifer, Sophia, Leni and others surrounded him, looked at him non-stop, and touched his cheeks, chest muscles, and abdominal muscles, saying that he had become darker and thinner.

Not really.

His physical and mental strength are different from ordinary people. No matter how busy he is every day, he never feels tired, let alone lose weight from being tired.

But it is true that I got tanned. Baja California is a tropical region, it is hot and dry all year round with plenty of sunshine.

The crew often shot outdoors, and not only did he get tanned, but even Sandra, who protected herself well, had her skin tanned from milky white to brown during the filming.

Plus she has a plump figure, and after peeling off the outer packaging, she looks like the colorful braised beef and pork elbow in a delicatessen, which is very appetizing.

During the filming, he and Sandra slept together every day and ate too much braised pork elbows, which were a bit greasy.

After returning home, seeing the group of fair, plump and fragrant women around him, his appetite gradually returned.

After fooling around at home for two days, Link went to the film studio and started editing and post-production. It took him three weeks to complete the film.

While editing the film, I also attended the preview of the movie "The Groom Running Backwards".

He served as the screenwriter and editor of this film, with a participation rate of 12%, and finally received a 2% physical bonus.

After getting 2%, the body muscles warm up slightly and the reaction is much milder than the 25% addition.

"Daniel, now that The Network has finished filming, we are starting to prepare for the next movie. Once the budget for The English Patient has been completed, we will start casting and consider the filming location."

After the movie ended, Link left the screening room and said a few words to his old partner Daniel DeVito as he walked.

"Is it that urgent? You've already shot two movies in the first half of the year. Do you want to take a two-month break before starting filming again?"

Daniel DeVito said, adjusting the arm of his glasses.

"I'm going to Hawaii for a vacation this weekend. I'll rest and write the script at the same time. You guys continue to work on the budget, and then we'll start the preparatory work. We'll finish filming as early as possible."

"All right!"

Daniel DeVito shrugged his shoulders, looking a little helpless. Other directors often complain about how hard it is to shoot a movie every year.

Since October last year, he has finished filming three movies in a row, but he is still reluctant to take a break and is still rushing to film movies. He is more hardworking than many debt-ridden blue-collar workers.

There is no other director in Hollywood as hardworking and productive as him.

"Daniel, I also know that this arrangement will be tiring, but our company is in a very bad situation right now. We are surrounded by enemies, and the seven major film companies wish our company would go bankrupt sooner. In this case, we can only work harder and make more competitive films to make the company's film library more sufficient.

But this situation won’t last long. When we defeat the seven major studios and gain a foothold in Hollywood, we will have more time to rest.”

Link said, patting Daniel's plump shoulder.

Hearing his words, Daniel was a little moved and a little in awe. When he heard about Link's arrangement before, he didn't think too much about it. He was still complaining in his heart that Link was a workaholic and made everyone else become workaholics.

Now I heard that he worked so hard to make movies in order to resist the Big Seven and let Guess Pictures gain a foothold in Hollywood.

He was deeply touched. Everything Link did was for the company. What reason did he have not to work hard?
"Link, don't worry, I will definitely do a good job in preparing for the film and will never hold you back."

Daniel DeVito puffed out his chest and spoke with great vigor.

"Very good! Thank you for your hard work."

Link patted him on the back.

After arranging work at the company, he took several women in his family who were not filming and took a private plane to the Moon Bay Manor in Hawaii for vacation.
-
"The Shawshank Redemption" was released in its third week, earning $1873 million and a total North American box office of $6119 million, ranking second in the weekly box office.

The first place was the Disney animated film "Pocahontas", with a box office of 3448 million US dollars in its first week.

The third place is "The Bridges of Madison County", with 1466 million US dollars.

Fourth place: "Waterworld", with $814 million, and a cumulative box office of $5858 million, which is actually less than the box office of "Shawshank" released in the same period.

Based on the current box office situation, the media predicts that the North American box office of "Waterworld" will be around 8000 million, with an estimated loss of up to 1 million US dollars.

Originally, Universal Pictures had the opportunity to become the biggest winner of the summer vacation thanks to the performance of the two movies "Apollo 13" and "Gremlins".

Now that Universal Pictures has suffered huge losses on the "Waterworld" project, the title of the biggest winner has to go to other film companies.

After sorting out the performance of films under the eight major film companies, the media was surprised to find that Guess the Picture Company, which had a low-key performance in this summer vacation, is the most likely to become the biggest winner.

The Butterfly Effect, which was released by Guess What Pictures during the summer vacation, has currently accumulated a box office of 1.42 million US dollars, with a box office revenue of 13:1. The Shawshank Redemption has reached a box office of 6119 million US dollars in two weeks. According to the current growth trend, it also has a chance to exceed million.

If this movie breaks 100 million, Guess What Studios will have three movies that broke 100 million in North American box office in the first half of the year, which is a better result than the Big Seven studios.

"Shirley, do the remaining Paramount movies have a chance to make over 100 million? No? Why don't you think of a way? Do you want to see Guess What Movies continue to dominate the summer season?"

"Lang, I remember that you have two movies coming out at Universal Pictures. Do these two movies have a chance to break 100 million at the box office? No? If we increase the publicity and mobilize many celebrities to promote, is there a chance? Still no? Why don't you try? Are you just going to watch that bastard Link beat the seven of us and win?"

"Michael, don't you have any at Warner Bros?"

"It's over!"

Michael Ovitz put down the phone and leaned weakly in his office chair, his face gloomy and his eyes dull.

In the early stage of the summer vacation, blockbuster films released by the seven major film studios were released one after another, showing strong competitiveness in the film market and continuously dominating the weekly box office rankings, leaving films released by film companies such as Guess What no chance to stand out.

He originally thought that under such an airtight offensive, Guess Pictures' films would suffer huge losses, and Link's power and status in Hollywood would also suffer a great blow.

Unfortunately, things did not turn out as he wished.

Among the three films released by Guess What Pictures during the summer vacation, except for "Desperate" which had a disappointing box office performance, "The Butterfly Effect" and "The Shawshank Redemption" still sold well despite the strong pressure from the seven major film studios due to their excellent quality and powerful publicity and promotion capabilities.

Currently, the North American box office of "The Butterfly Effect" has exceeded 100 million, and the box office of "Shawshank" has exceeded 60 million in three weeks. It is expected that the North American box office will exceed 100 million within ten weeks.

These two movies are expected to rank in the top five in the summer movie box office rankings.

Guess What Pictures has a monopoly on both films.

This also makes the seven major film studios' joint crackdown on Guess the Guess a joke.

And he, as the leader, is the most ridiculous of all.

Now there are some rumors within CAA, mocking his incompetence and the successive failures he has suffered since meeting Link.

Even the company employees no longer look at him with the same respect as before. Everyone is talking about Link, praising Link, and admiring Link. In their eyes, Link is the most powerful man in Hollywood.

Damn!

Michael Ovitz had a gloomy face. After smoking a pack of cigarettes in the office, he picked up the phone and called Michael Eisner, asking in a hoarse voice whether the invitation was still valid?

Eisner responded that it was valid, but once he accepted it, he could not go back on his word and had to join Disney before the end of the summer vacation.

Ovitz gritted his teeth and said yes.

He is willing to take some risks in order to defeat Link and return to the top of the Hollywood power list.

Once he succeeds, he will once again be the king of Hollywood, and those who betrayed and mocked him will receive the punishment they deserve.

After deciding to join Disney, Ovitz no longer hesitated and began to adjust the CAA management and put those who obeyed him into important positions.

This method is used to ensure that he still has a greater say after leaving CAA. If his development at Disney is not smooth, he can also return to CAA as a retreat through the connections he left behind.

Since he is the founder of CAA and has great power in CAA, the early adjustments to the management were very smooth.

However, when it came to appointing a new president, the candidate he recommended was not approved by the board of directors.

Nearly half backed Jay Maloney as the new president, rather than his choice, Ron Mayer.

Michael Ovitz was very angry when he saw this. It was no secret in the circle that Jamalone and Link had a good personal relationship.

In order to prevent Jay Maloney from joining forces with Link to usurp the throne, he found an excuse at the beginning of the year to deprive Jay Maloney of his position, and only waited until his contract expired before dismissing Jay Maloney.

However, in the past six months, Jamalone contacted the board shareholders privately and gradually gained the support of nearly half of the members.

If he had not convened the board of directors in advance to appoint a new president, Jay Maloney might have gained more support in a few months and snatched his position through the board of directors.

After learning about this, Michael Ovitz was furious and announced on the spot that Jay Maloney was fired and asked him to leave the Death Star Building immediately.

But his order was not passed by the board of directors, and Jay Maloney refused to leave CAA.

CAA is at an impasse over the appointment of a new president.

"Damn it! I must kill him! I must kill him!"

Michael Ovitz slammed the door in anger and roared loudly in the office, cursing Jamalone and Link from time to time. His voice was filled with strong hatred and murderous intent, which made the assistants at the store shrink their shoulders.

Jingle Bell!Jingle Bell!
As he was shouting and cursing, the phone on the table rang. Michael Ovitz didn't want to answer it, so he picked it up and was about to smash it, but suddenly he realized the person calling was Link.

Ovitz was furious.

He just got humiliated at the board meeting.

When Link called at this time, I knew what he was going to say without having to think too much.

This bastard must be here to gloat over someone else's misfortune.

Michael Ovitz picked up the phone, hung up hard, and continued to curse Link.

Jingle Bell!Jingle Bell!
The phone rang again, and the person calling was still Link.

Michael laughed in anger. Link was really going too far. He picked up the phone and spoke into the receiver.

"Michael, are you done scolding me? Can we talk?"

When he was cursing at the top of his lungs, Link's voice came from the receiver, his tone calm and composed.

"Chat? Haha, you just want to laugh at me, what to talk about?"

Michael Ovitz sneered.

"Let's talk about cooperation."

"cooperate?"

"Yes, I heard that you are going to join Disney as co-CEO. Congratulations, this is a good decision."

"What does this have to do with you?"

"It matters a lot. First, I am a Disney shareholder and a member of the board of directors. Second, I am also the owner of a film company. If you work for Disney, from now on, we will become true colleagues."

"Haha, so what? You are just a small shareholder with only a little say in the board of directors. You can't stop the Disney board from inviting me to serve as co-CEO. Do you think you can scare me and change my mind?"

Michael Ovitz sneered.

"Michael, I didn't mean to stop you from joining Disney. On the contrary, it was my idea to invite you to work at Disney."

"Hahaha! Ridiculous, too ridiculous. Was it your idea to invite me to work at Disney? Hahaha, Link, do you want to make me laugh to death?"

Michael Ovitz was in a bad mood, but when he heard the news, he couldn't help laughing.

"Michael, it doesn't matter whether it's true or not. I said the purpose of my call was to seek cooperation with you. First of all, you should know the purpose of Eisner's invitation to you to work at Disney, and what will happen to you if he achieves his goal.

Secondly, you should also know who owns Disney. How much power can you get at Disney? Will you have more power than Jeffrey Katzenberg? Will your position be more secure than Jeffrey's?
Third, you are an agent. Although you have successfully operated several film projects, you should also know how difficult it is to make a film project. After you become the person in charge of Disney, you need to make some achievements to gain a foothold and further gain more power. But are you sure you can make money for Disney?"

Link paused and smiled, "Michael, am I being thoughtful?"

After listening to this, Michael Ovitz's face gradually darkened.

Eisner was also a person obsessed with power, even more so than him.

Michael Eisner resigned from Paramount Pictures in 1984 and joined the bankrupt Disney as the company's CEO and chairman of the board.

After he joined Disney, Disney gradually got out of trouble and gradually developed into a world-renowned entertainment empire, and he became the chairman of the kingdom.

But after saving Disney, Eisner became greedy for power and wanted to control Disney forever and make Disney develop according to his ideas.

His business philosophy clashed with many members of the board, including members of the Disney family.

This also led to constant internal struggles at Disney.

Because Eisner was so powerful, no one could beat him in the Disney ring, including the deceased Disney chairman Frank Welsh and the Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg who was forced to leave.

Now Eisner invited him to join Disney not because of his talent, but because he wanted to use him to consolidate power and quell disputes within the company. His role was similar to that of a puppet.

Just like Link's first question, once Eisner achieves his goal, will he stay? Can he beat Eisner?

Thinking of this, Michael Ovitz suddenly felt that leaving CAA and working for Disney was a bad idea.

"Michael, if you're wondering how to get a foothold in Disney, I can help you."

Link's voice came from the receiver.

"you?"

Michael Ovitz looked up, "Why would you help me? No, what ability do you have to help me?"

"Of course I have conditions for helping you. The condition is that you need to recommend Jamal Maloney to be the president of CAA."

Link said.

"You want me to recommend that traitor Jamalone to run CAA? Are you kidding me? I'm telling you, it's absolutely impossible!"

Michael Ovitz said categorically.

CAA is his retreat. What's the difference between handing the retreat to the enemy and cutting off one's own retreat?
“Michael, don’t rush to refuse. You now have two choices. The first is to stay at CAA, and the second is to switch to Disney.

If it's the former, just pretend I didn't say anything. If it's the latter, you should think more about what I just said. After going to Disney, how to gain a foothold, how to seize power from Eisner, and become the real person in charge of Disney.

Of course, if you lose your ambition and go to Disney to retire as the media says, then I won’t say anything.

If you want to get power, you must cooperate with me. I am the only one in Hollywood who can help you. You can seriously consider it. "

Link said.

Dudu!

Michael Ovitz frowned when he heard the sound of Link hanging up the phone.

He wasn't sure whether Link's purpose in making this call was to help Jay Maloney or to use this ruse to prevent him from jumping to Disney and exploring his talents in the film industry.

But what Link said makes some sense. Disney is Eisner's territory, and Eisner is also a very domineering person.

Even though he was the former king of Hollywood and had deep connections in the entertainment industry, it would have been difficult for him to shake Eisner's position after he took office at Disney.

But if Link, a Disney shareholder and movie mogul, helps, is there a chance to compete with Eisner?

The answer is yes.

Link is the new king of Hollywood, he is very good at making movies, and he has collaborated with Columbia Pictures, helping them make a lot of money.

After he joined Disney, he could also make a lot of money for Disney through cooperation with Link.

As long as he can make money for the company, he may be able to take root in Disney like Michael Eisner and become the new head of Disney. He may even have a chance to regain the throne of the king of Hollywood.

That's the good side.

But what was Link’s intention in this matter? Was it just to help Jay Maloney get the position of president of CAA?
(End of this chapter)