Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 341 The background color of admiration is pink, and the background color of jealousy is dark green (5K)

After the public relations department of Guess What Pictures began to take action, a lot of negative news about Link appeared in the media.

Some media reported that he had many girlfriends, more than the number revealed at the beginning of the year, and his private life was extremely chaotic.

Apart from filming and picking up girls, he seldom does serious work and even rarely cares about the affairs of Guess Pictures. If it weren't for Michael Leeson, Daniel DeVito and others, Guess Pictures would have gone bankrupt long ago and would never have become as big as it is now.

He also has an extravagant lifestyle. He owns more than ten mansions around the world. He uses a golden toilet at home. The food he eats every day is flown in by plane. He eats whatever is expensive. The swimming pool in his villa is filled with Bordeaux red wine, and he often swims in the red wine with his girlfriends.

Some media revealed that he actually doesn't know how to act at all, and mainly relies on the help of several assistant directors. This is why he can continue to make good movies even though he has never learned how to do filmmaking.

Also, due to his indulgence in sensual pleasures, he became physically weak and sometimes needed to carry an oxygen tank when filming on the set.

Boom boom boom!
“President Lina!”

Daniel DeVito walked into Liu Xiaoli's office with a newspaper and pointed to an article in the newspaper and said,
“Have you read this news? It says that Guess What Films has become what it is today mainly because of Michael, Jon, and me. It’s obvious that someone is spreading rumors and trying to destroy our relationship with Link.

There is also this news, saying that Link can't make movies, and that several of his movies were made with the help of assistant directors. How can you say that? This is obviously slander. As for these articles, your public relations department should act quickly and bring these unscrupulous media to court to restore Link's reputation."

Liu Xiaoli looked at the newspaper Daniel handed over, and the corners of her lips couldn't help but move.

"Daniel, I have read all this news and reported it to Link. He said don't pay attention to it. The media previously praised him too much, which is not good. Now that these negative news have been exposed, it will cool down the public opinion."

Daniel frowned, "I'm afraid doing this will affect Link's reputation."

"It doesn't matter. He values actual interests and the development of the company more than those false reputations." Liu Xiaoli said with a smile.

"All right!"

Daniel DeVito nodded.

Before he left, Michael Rison, Jon Gordon and Joe Feller also came with newspapers and suggested that the public relations department do emergency public relations in response to these negative news.

Liu Xiaoli also used the same words to deal with Daniel to deal with several people.

After Daniel and others left, Liu Xiaoli received calls from Monica, Jennifer and others, talking about negative news in the media.

They were very angry. Link was so strong that there were many times when more than a dozen of them joined forces and were still no match for him. How could he be so tired that he couldn't get up? This was clearly a slander and humiliation.

Liu Xiaoli covered her forehead helplessly and told Monica and the others that Link knew about this matter and asked the company not to respond for the time being and allow the media to slander them.

Liu Xiaoli also hinted to several people that the company supports this kind of public opinion in order to cool down the public opinion that praises Link and prevent excessive praise that would make Link the target of public criticism.

Monica and the others understood, and jokingly said that they would go to the island to deal with Link, making his legs weak and unable to get up, and invited her to join them.

Liu Xiaoli agreed with a blushing face.
-
"Sophia, the newspaper said that you have a golden toilet in your villa? Is that true? I must see it next time I go to your place."

Nicolas Cage said to his cousin Sophia while flipping through the newspaper.

"It's fake. There's none in the villa."

Sophia said as she looked at the book.

"Is it fake news again? Someone deliberately framed him? I originally thought that after Michael Ovitz changed jobs, the disputes in Hollywood would stop for a while, but it didn't. I think I thought things were too simple."

Nicolas Cage said.

"The current situation in Hollywood is quite complicated. Link has become a thorn in the eyes of many people. Sophia, you'd better stay away from him. It's not good for you to get involved with him."

Francis Coppola said, frowning at the TV.

"Thank you for your advice, but I make my own decisions."

Sophia snorted and went outside to read the book.

When old Coppola saw his daughter's stubborn back, he let out a helpless sigh.

"Uncle, don't worry. Link is a nice guy, and it's nice for Sophia to date him."

Nicolas Cage persuaded.

Old Coppola snorted, covered his face with the newspaper, and didn't want to listen to his nonsense.
-
"Haha, did you see that? I told Link a long time ago to focus on making movies and not do anything else, but he refused to listen. Look, the media is hyping up some negative information about him again."

In the bar, Quentin laughed while shaking the newspaper in his hand.

"Link is now the most powerful man in Hollywood, and these negative news have little impact on him."

said bald Steven Soderbergh.

"What's the most powerful person? We are all directors. The most important thing is to focus on making good movies. Other titles are useless."

Quentin said with a sneer.

Robert Rodriguez smiled and said, "When Link became the king of Hollywood, he did not stop making movies. He finished one in April and another in July. I heard that he is preparing for a new movie. He will make at least three movies this year. Quentin, when will you shoot your next movie?"

The muscles at the corners of Quentin's eyes twitched. Some directors in the circle make one film a year, some make one film every two or three years, but Link makes three films a year. He is simply abnormal to the extreme. It is impossible to compete with such a person.

"Huh! This guy is still on vacation in Hawaii, and probably hasn't seen the news yet. I called him to read a few news reports and asked him if it was true that he was wearing an oxygen mask while filming a movie?"

Quentin chuckled and started calling on the phone.

In addition to Quentin and Nicolas Cage, Leonardo, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Ryan Phillippe and others also noticed the news in the media.

In an interview with reporters, they denounced the unscrupulous media for spreading rumors and slandering Link, saying that Link is one of the top directors in the world, with a very high artistic level in his films and strong creative ability.

He is also very good at instructing actors, and after working with him, their acting abilities will be greatly improved.

Said that the reports in the media were all fake news.

Ordinary people also noticed the negative news and started to discuss Link's private life, treating him as a playboy.

These negative news have to some extent offset the previous reports that hyped Link as the king of Hollywood.

The heat of these reports gradually cooled down, and there were fewer and fewer articles in the media discussing whether Link was the king of Hollywood.

Hollywood has returned to its structure of the Big Seven + Guess What Pictures, and the former King of Hollywood, Ovitz, has also been integrated into the Big Seven and become an ordinary member.
-
In mid-August, Guess Pictures' fourth film, "The Groom Running Backwards," was released.

The film is jointly produced and distributed by Guess What Films and MGM Pictures.

The idea for the film came from Tom Hanks' acceptance speech at last year's Oscars.

It tells the story of Howard, a middle school teacher, who was revealed by his students to be gay on the eve of his engagement.

After his identity was exposed, Howard encountered many changes in his life and work. Finally, at the wedding scene, he decided to face his heart, confess his orientation, and fall in love with gossip reporter Peter.

The film stars Kevin Kline, Julianne Moore, Tom Selleck, Joaquin Phoenix and others.

It's a rather interesting gay comedy movie.

Towards the end of the summer vacation, there are relatively few commercial blockbusters and the films released during the same period are not very competitive.

"The Groom Runs Backwards" earned $1994 million in 1679 theaters in its first week. This result was slightly worse than the premiere results of "The Butterfly Effect" and "The Shawshank Redemption", but it unexpectedly won the weekly box office championship.

It is also the one with the best start among the four films released by Guess What Pictures during the summer vacation.

In second place was the romantic film "Clueless" released by Paramount Pictures, which earned 1464 million US dollars in its second week and a cumulative box office revenue of 3461 million US dollars.

The film cost $1200 million to produce.

The film earned over 30 million dollars in box office in two weeks, and is expected to gross over 60 million dollars in North America, making it a hit movie.

Third place was the comedy film "Baby Pig" released by Universal Pictures, which took in $874 million in its first week and cost $3000 million to produce. The final box office was just enough to break even.

"Link, congratulations, another movie is a big hit. Now the Big Seven studios are powerless to suppress your movie."

In the pavilion, there was a cool breeze. Jay Maloney, wearing a shirt and trousers, held a cup of tea and smiled.

"Congratulations on your promotion and salary increase."

Link smiled softly.

After taking office as the president of CAA, Jamal Maloney went to his Hawaiian estate to thank him in person, showing his sincerity.

"Link, thank you again for your support. If it weren't for your help, not only would I have gotten this position, but I would have been kicked out by CAA."

Jemalone shook his head. This kind of thing can be described in just two or three words, but when you experience it in person, every second is thrilling.

Link waved his hand, ignoring his gratitude.

In fact, he was also a little surprised by Michael Ovitz's approach.

Last time, he only talked about cooperation with Ovitz.

Ovitz did not give an exact answer at the time.

Afterwards, neither of them talked about it again.

Now Ovitz supports Maloney as the president of CAA, which seems to be an acceptance of his proposal, but it is not certain.

Ovitz likes power. As long as Guess Pictures continues to grow and the power in his hands continues to grow, Ovitz will never really cooperate with him. Even if they cooperate, it will be mutual benefit and the other party's purpose will still be to compete for power.

"Jay, Michael may have other purposes in supporting you to take over. I haven't figured out what the purpose is yet. You can investigate it slowly when you have the chance." Link said.

Jay Maloney nodded.

Although it is not known what the deal between Link and Ovitz was, Link was able to convince his rival Ovitz to change his mind and support him to take over.

He was in awe of Link's abilities.

"Link, there's one more thing."

Maloney pulled out a stack of documents, revealing that Michael Ovitz and the founder recently withdrew from CAA.

CAA's stock price was volatile, with its market value falling from $12.5 billion to around $10 billion. Many shareholders were preparing to sell their shares, and Jamalone asked Link if he had any plans to take over.

In the entertainment industry, according to the Paramount Act of 1948, film company investors are not allowed to participate in brokerage affairs and film distribution to avoid forming a monopoly, but holding a small amount of shares will not violate antitrust laws.

In order to show support for Jamalone's work, Link planned to arrange for Flash Gold Capital to take over 2% of the shares, worth 1.2 or million yuan. Including the % purchased previously, the number of shares held was not large.

The reason why he didn't buy more CAA shares is that he already has shares in UTA agency and doesn't need to invest in other agencies;

The second point is that CAA’s current market value has reached a relatively high level, with little room for growth and little investment potential.

There is excess capital that can be invested elsewhere.

Jamalone thanked him for his support and said he would support his work in the future and strengthen the cooperation between the two companies.

Link also expressed his expectations.

Finally, Jamalone looked around the manor and joked that it wasn't lively enough and it would be better with more people. He said that CAA had many beautiful women under its banner who could be introduced to him to make the manor more lively.

Link declined.

Although he likes to pick up girls, he will not use such coercive methods, nor is there any need to do such a thing.

Seeing that he was indeed not interested, Jamaloni stopped trying to persuade him and stayed in the villa for half a day before saying goodbye and leaving.

"Link, there are rumors in the industry that Jamal Maloney was able to become the president of CAA with your help, is that true?"

After seeing off Jamal Maloney, Michelle Pfeiffer, Diane Lane, Angelina Jolie and others looked at him and asked.

"I just helped a little."

Link smiled while holding Michelle in his arms.

"It's definitely not a small favor. Jamalone flew over to visit you right after he took over the job at CAA, and he was so polite. From this point of view, you have been a great help to him."

Angelina Jolie laughed.

Cameron Diaz and others also echoed the sentiment.

They are all artists under CAA and know more about the company's internal affairs.

When they heard that Link helped Jamalone become the president of CAA, and saw how much Jamalone respected Link, they felt very proud, and their eyes when they looked at Link became more gentle and passionate.

Link smiled softly and didn't explain further.

He left the dock with a few women in his arms and returned to the villa to continue writing the new film shooting plan.
-
When Jay Maloney visited Link in Hawaii, Universal Pictures CEO Ron Meyer showed up in Michael Ovitz's office at Disney.

A year ago, one of them was the president of CAA and the other was the vice president.

Now one is the president of Universal Pictures and the other is the co-president of Disney.

Roughly equivalent positions.

After seeing Ovitz's new office, Longmeyer said, "Mike, I didn't expect you to decide to work for Disney in just a few weeks. Your decisiveness is surprising."

"It's not that sudden. Michael Eisner invited me at the end of last year, but I didn't accept it at that time."

Michael Ovitz said, toying with his cigar.

When he received Eisner's invitation at the end of last year, he shook his head decisively and laughed at Michael Eisner for talking nonsense in broad daylight. How could he, the president of CAA, work for Disney?

There is absolutely no way this could happen.

But no one expected that this would actually happen in less than a year.

Sometimes I think about it and find it very interesting.

"How did you accept it this time?"

Longmeyer asked, smoking a cigarette.

Michael Ovitz glanced at him and said, “Link once said that in Hollywood, the film companies are the protagonists, and other industries are serving the movies, and the same is true for the agencies.

When the summer vacation came, I saw that the seven major studios joined forces but couldn't beat the movies of Guess What? At that time, I was thinking, if I were to run a film company and make more good movies to compete with Guess What? Would I have a chance to beat it? Now I'm sitting here, just want to give it a try. "

Lang Feiye shook his head. "Mike, the film industry is more complicated than the brokerage industry. The failure of a film project often causes the company to lose tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars. The risks are much greater than those in the brokerage industry, which also means that our management must be cautious when making decisions and not take risks easily.

This is also one of the reasons why the Big Seven Studios will not try their best to deal with Guess Pictures.

In addition, competition in the film industry has become more intense. In order to compete for box office share and rankings, the competition among the seven major film studios has lasted for decades. It has not stopped even during the period when they joined forces to suppress Guess What Pictures. This is also the reason why the seven major film studios do not look strong when they join forces.

Once you take over Disney's film business, you will understand that being the president of one of the seven major film studios is not an easy task."

"I see."

Michael Ovitz sneered in his heart, how could he not understand.

After a conflict with Link in 93, he placed his hopes on the Big Seven Pictures, hoping to join forces with them to defeat Guess What Pictures, ban Link, and regain the title of King of Hollywood.

The results of it,
No matter how clever his strategies were, when he really faced off against Guess What Pictures, the Big Seven Pictures often dragged their feet and did not put in enough effort, which led to his repeated defeats.

The Big Seven Studios are a typical group of bad teammates.

Don't ever think of defeating Link by working with them.

It was only after he saw the problems of the seven major film studios that he decided to accept Eisner's invitation and work for Disney, the most powerful of the seven film studios.

On the one hand, he could use this platform to defeat Link and Guess What Pictures, and on the other hand, he could bring his career back to its peak.

"Mike, competition is the main theme of the Big Seven Studios, but we also cooperate sometimes, such as dealing with a new force that suddenly emerged, such as Guess What?. This can ensure the dominance of the Big Seven Studios in the film industry. After you become the president of Disney, I hope you can maintain this attitude."

Langmeyer said with a serious expression.

Michael Ovitz took a puff of his cigar and looked at him. "You said that the seven major film studios are hostile to each other, and even if they join forces, they can't beat Guess What? Pictures. Why do they continue to join forces?"

Longmeyer smiled and said, "This is a tactical issue. In Hollywood, the seven major studios are seven tigers, and Guess What Studios is a deformed elephant. Facing such an opponent, the tigers are afraid of getting hurt and will be cautious when attacking.

But if they were facing an injured or weak elephant, the seven tigers would definitely attack with all their might, kill the elephant and have a good meal.

In the past two years, Guess What Pictures has been operating well, with no projects suffering huge losses and sufficient funds. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for us to defeat it.

But the film industry is full of hidden risks. Guess what, the film industry will not always be profitable. When problems are exposed, it will be the opportunity for the seven major film companies to go all out. "

When Ovitz heard his words, he narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but think of the "The Rock" project.

The production cost of this project is as high as more than 70 million. If the investment of Guess Film fails, will the Guess the elephant be injured and bleed?

"Mike, the third thing is, I heard that the reason Jay Maloney was able to take over CAA smoothly was because he got your approval, is that true?"

Longmeyer asked.

"Yes, I have no objection to this matter."

"Why? You should know the relationship between Jamalone and Link. If you hand over CAA to him, Link's power in Hollywood will definitely be stronger and more difficult to deal with in the future."

This is also the main purpose of Langmeyer's visit.

He wanted to know Michael Ovitz's purpose in doing this and whether there were any follow-up plans?

Michael Ovitz shook his head. “I have to do this. Among the vice presidents of CAA, he has the strongest management ability and is more proficient in brokerage work. If he is in charge of CAA, the company will develop more smoothly. Giving it to others will cause internal divisions in the company.

CAA is our common cause, and I don’t want to see our hard work go to waste after leaving CAA. I think you can understand my difficulties. ”

"I can understand that, but you forgot one thing. Jemaloney is not of squid descent. You should take that into consideration when choosing your successor."

Longmeyer said seriously.

Michael Ovitz exhaled a puff of cigarette and said, "Don't worry, half of the board members are our people. In the management, except for Jay Maloney, the other vice presidents are also our people. Although Maloney is the president, he has little power. If he dares to disobey, I have a hundred ways to replace him."

"Okay, I believe in your ability."

Langmeyer didn't want to argue with him and didn't ask any further questions.

After Longmeyer left, Michael Ovitz smoked a cigar and called Link to ask him when he would be back to discuss cooperation with him.

Link said he would be back in September and asked him not to worry.

(End of this chapter)